The social network’s chief reacts to reports that a killer used Twitter to lure suicidal victims.
Twitter’s chief executive has said a case in which an alleged serial killer is said to have lured victims by searching the social network for suicidal thoughts is « extremely sad ».
But Jack Dorsey added that it was not realistic to expect the service to auto-delete the kind of tweets said to have been involved.
A 27-year-old man was arrested in Zuma, Japan, in October after nine people’s body parts were found in his flat.
Newspapers call him the Twitter killer.
Local reports claim Takahiro Shiraishi contacted his victims – the youngest of whom was 15 – via the social network by telling them he could help them die and in some cases claiming he would kill himself alongside them.
His Twitter profile contained the words: « I want to help people who are really in pain. Please DM [direct message] me anytime. »
He is also alleged to have killed the boyfriend of one of the women, who had apparently come looking for her.
