Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill. sent a letter to tech billionaire Elon Musk on Friday, expressing concern that Twitter’s approach to child safety has “rapidly deteriorated” since Musk bought the social media site in October.
The letter follows reports from several news outlets, including NBC News, about Musk firing people at Twitter who work to prevent child sexual exploitation and disbanding a board of outside experts who advised Twitter on its efforts to address abuse.
Durbin wrote that he was not convinced by Musk’s recent pledge to make addressing child sexual abuse content “priority #1.”
“I am seriously concerned about the apparent disconnect between your statement on Twitter to eradicate online child sexual exploitation and your company’s actual efforts to do so,” Durbin wrote.
He continued: “While Twitter certainly had room to improve online child safety before you got it, reports indicate that Twitter’s approach to child safety has deteriorated rapidly on your watch.”
Durbin cited Musk’s decision to disband Twitter’s expert board, known as Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council, as well as a 50% staff cut to Twitter’s child safety team. And he noted that Twitter failed to send a representative to this month’s annual industry meeting about the same topic.
In the letter, Musk is asked to answer seven questions by December 30.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night about the possibility of a congressional investigation.
By one metric — reports to an outside group that tracks child sexual abuse content — Musk has made little difference, for better or worse. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an organization tasked by the federal government with tracking online reports of child sexual abuse content, said little has changed in Twitter’s reporting practices under Musk.
Durbin wrote to Musk that Twitter has both a “global legal obligation” and a moral obligation to address online child abuse. Her letter also includes a personal appeal to Musk, who has at least nine children.