Twitter on Monday disbanded its "Trust and Safety Council," a group of volunteers who offered the company outside expert advice on online safety, according to an email seen by NBC News. 

"As Twitter moves into a new phase, we are reevaluating how best to bring external insights into our product and policy development work," the company said in the email. "As part of this process, we have decided that the Trust and Safety Council is not the best structure to do this." 

Alex Holmes, who had been a member of the council, tweeted that the email came after the company canceled a meeting with the council.

"The way this has unfolded and way members have been treated is unfortunate and unacceptable," Holmes, an advisory board member of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and deputy CEO of the nonprofit group The Diana Award, posted.

Holmes added: "Over past week several members of council have had their personal safety and well-being impacted by the actions of Twitter staff."

The disbanding of the council comes as Elon Musk, the new CEO of Twitter, continues to shape the company toward what he has called his "free speech absolutist" ideals, which has included restoring the accounts of white nationalists and QAnon adherents. Musk has addressed concerns about abuse and misinformation flourishing on the platform by saying that the company will embrace "freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach."0