Twitter to combine its account-response teams amid spam bot debate

San Francisco: Twitter is trying to make the platform 'healthier' by merging teams that are responsible for lowering spam bots and toxic content, according to a staff letter from August 23 seen by Reuters.

The move comes in response to claims made by a former executive that the firm did not effectively handle either tasks.

As per reports, the micro blogging platform will combine its health experience team, which works on reducing misinformation and harmful content, with the Twitter service team, which is responsible for reviewing profiles that users report and taking down spam accounts, into a new group called "Health Products and Services (HPS),"

The new team will be led by Ella Irwin, vice president of product for health and Twitter service, who joined the company in June.

"We need teams to focus on specific problems, working together as one team and no longer operating in silos," Irwin wrote in the email to staff, adding the team will "ruthlessly prioritize" its projects.

The creation of the HPS team takes on greater significance as the company is challenged on multiple fronts. A former security chief and well-regarded hacker, Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, has accused the company of misleading federal regulators about its defenses against hackers and spam accounts.

It is battling Tesla Inc's chief executive, Elon Musk, in court as the world's richest man attempts to walk away from a $44 billion deal to buy the company, accusing Twitter of withholding information on how it calculates spam accounts.

Twitter on Tuesday said Zatko's allegations were aimed at capturing attention and inflicting harm on the company, and it has said it stands by its disclosures on spam and bot accounts.

Twitter is also preparing to fortify its defenses against the spread of misinformation ahead of the November U.S. midterm elections.

The reorganization of the toxic content and spam teams "reflects our continued commitment to prioritize, and focus our teams in pursuit of our goals," a Twitter spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The move also comes as employees have left Twitter amid the months-long chaos with Musk. High-ranking executives including Kayvon Beykpour and Bruce Falck, who oversaw consumer product and revenue, have departed the company in recent months.