Dusseldorf City Council Engaged in Passionate Discussion Regarding 'X' Infrastructure
In a heated council meeting, a motion was proposed by the Greens and DIE LINKE factions to limit the use of Twitter, formerly known as "X", for emergency communications due to concerns about reliability and security risks. The SPD also supported this motion, which was referred to a committee for further examination.
The motion, submitted on Thursday, 10th April, was based on the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk in 2022 and allegations of his promotion of the erosion of democracy in the USA. Critics argue that the platform's corporate control, potential for outages, censorship, or misuse could endanger public safety by compromising timely, trustworthy communication in critical situations.
The committee responsible for digitalization, personnel, and organization was tasked with examining the issue of how the city communicates and what makes sense in light of these concerns. The CDU, the Left, and the Mayor, however, voted against referring the issue to the committee. The vote was close, with 36 votes in favour and 35 against.
Despite the motion, no immediate action was taken to restrict the use of Twitter by the city. The city currently has nearly 95,000 followers on the platform. Notably, the Green Party faction and DIE LINKE have shut down their accounts on Twitter, while several universities, colleges, municipalities, cities, trade unions, and many other users have already left the service.
Lukas Mielczarek of the Greens spoke out against the hate and misinformation that has become the norm on Twitter. He expressed concern about the platform's role in spreading false information and its potential to harm public discourse. The CDU, in response, verbally attacked both the Greens and the Left.
It remains unclear whether the motion has been accepted, rejected, or is still under parliamentary consideration. As of now, the status of the motion is uncertain, and no definitive action related to this proposal has been detailed in the search results. The city's account on Twitter, however, continues to be active.
- The motion, proposed by the Greens and DIE LINKE factions, to limit Twitter's use for emergency communications due to policy-and-legislation concerns about its reliability and security risks, has been referred to a committee for further examination in the realm of political discussion.
- The thorny issue of how the city communicates in light of concerns about Twitter's corporate control, potential for outages, censorship, or misuse, falls under the purview of digitalization, personnel, and organization policy-and-legislation, as decided by the committee assignment.
