Twitter is not the right place to seek information during an emergency, Dutch politicians and a prominent online group said on Wednesday, following an incident in which citizens were directed to the platform for updates during a large storm.
"We find it problematic that the government depends on
Twitter for sharing crucial information," lawmaker Nico Drost's office
said in emailed remarks to Reuters, citing accessibility, accountability and
reliability issues.
Twitter could not immediately be reached for comment.
Several politicians and digital rights group Bits of Freedom
said that was not appropriate, given that Twitter is a private company and the
government has websites specifically set up for crisis communications.
"It's ridiculous to use Twitter," said Bits of
Freedom spokesperson Ber Engels, citing problems with dis-information and
Twitter being hard to reach quickly for people without accounts. He also noted
the company had recently imposed limits on the number of tweets that can be
viewed by anyone who hasn't paid for a subscription.
"You might see one tweet with great information from
emergency services, but maybe there are 10 tweets that Twitter prioritizes
which contain completely false information," he said.
The regional fire department's Twitter account is not
verified. Its most recent tweet directs users to a live blog hosted on the City
of Amsterdam's website.
Twitter's communication account did not immediately respond
to questions. An email to Twitter's press email address generated an automatic
poop emoji reply, in line with an announcement earlier this year by its boss
Elon Musk. © Reuters