In an extended letter, she wrote that she entered Twitter two years ago. She hoped to better perform her role as an MP by reaching out and keeping in touch with the people. This really disappointed her.

Armies troll and hate robots

Deputy concludes that Twitter is not a place where people are curious about each other, or where people take the time to have a good conversation. “It’s a place where people negatively measure and insult each other. Or worse. A place where armies of trolls and hate bots are at work to fuel polarization.”

According to the D66 group member, this polarization does not stay on Twitter, but the discussions “almost always seep into talk show tables, newspaper pages and parliamentary debates”. “And this is how Twitter defines our social debate through a revenue model based on contrasts.”

There is no fuel for this dynamism

She continued, “Enough, that’s enough.” “I no longer want or like my tweets to feed into this dynamic. I’d rather focus on my job as an MP: controlling and leading our government. And there are plenty of other ways to engage with people in society. I don’t need Twitter for that.” .

This “programmed polarization, negative tone, and the fact that Twitter is a defining resource for journalism” makes it a “toxic mix that holds our society hostage.”

Van Genken is a member of the Parliament’s Digital Affairs Committee. She ended her letter by saying that regulation of social media platforms is “much needed”. “As an MP, I am committed to that. But as Twitter users, we also have a role to play.”

‘excerpts’

In her tweet announcing the decision, Van Ginneken posted some examples of hate and harassment. “Anthology”: