Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee and NSA contractor, has taken to Twitter to question Twitter CEO Elon Musk over the suspension of his wife’s account. Lindsay Mills’ account was locked after she posted an old photo of her baby, which showed the child’s bare back and bottom. The image went against Twitter’s policies on nudity and pornography. Snowden shared the photo in his tweet and asked Musk if it looked like pornography to him. He urged Twitter to dial back their algorithm and reconsider their policies on family photos.
While some users agreed with Twitter’s decision, others understood the misjudgment of the algorithm. Snowden gained international attention in 2013 for leaking classified information about government surveillance programs. He revealed the extent of government surveillance on American citizens and people around the world, sparking a debate about privacy and government surveillance. The US Department of Justice charged him with espionage and theft of government property, leading him to flee to Hong Kong before eventually being granted asylum in Russia.
