In his first day as the new boss of Twitter, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk explained what he meant by 'free speech'. He also lashed out at critics who opposed his purchase of the microblogging platform for $44 billion. Musk tweeted, “The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all.”
Many of Musk’s proposed changes reflect his own experience as a high-profile and outspoken Twitter user with more than 85 million followers and a swarm of pesky impersonator accounts that use his name and photo to promote cryptocurrency schemes. The statement announcing his acquisition of Twitter on Monday highlighted the need to defeat “spam bots” that mimic real users.
The more hands-off approach to content moderation that Musk envisions has many users concerned that the platform will reanimate accounts that propagated dangerous conspiracies and harassment.
Wall Street analysts said if he goes too far, it could also alienate advertisers — Twitter’s chief revenue source. And it could make it harder to retain the San Francisco-based company’s more than 7,500 employees, some of whom are already voicing concerns about the possibility of a backslide on content standards.
In Europe, officials reminded Musk about a new law, the Digital Services Act, that will force tech companies to step up policing of their online platforms.
“Be it cars or social media, any company operating in Europe needs to comply with our rules – regardless of their shareholding,” tweeted Thierry Breton, the European Union commissioner in charge of the bloc’s internal market. “Mr. Musk knows this well. He is familiar with European rules on automotive, and will quickly adapt to the Digital Services Act.”
Musk’s takeover is not yet a done deal and still awaits the approval of a majority of Twitter’s stockholders. Twitter previously scheduled its annual shareholders meeting for May 25, but a regulatory filing Tuesday said the company will be convening a special meeting “as promptly as reasonably practicable.”
US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a known wealth tax supporter, had condemned the deal and called it “dangerous for democracy.” She also made a case for imposing wealth tax on billionaires and also framing strong rules to make Big Tech accountable.
“This deal is dangerous for our democracy. Billionaires like Elon Musk play by a different set of rules than everyone else, accumulating power for their own gain. We need a wealth tax and strong rules to hold Big Tech accountable,” Warren tweeted.
She said in another tweet that a billionaire whose estimated net worth went up by almost 10 times since the start of the coronavirus pandemic is about to have power to decide how people can communicate with each other and that it is dangerous for a democracy “to have so much power in so few hands.”
Musk claims to be a "free speech absolutist". Amid the buzz of his Twitter takeover confirmation yesterday, he also said he wanted even his "worst critics" to stay on the microblogging platform.
Shares of Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, have lost about 19% of their value since Musk announced his stake in Twitter, including about a 12% decline on Tuesday. Analysts say investors are fearful that Musk will be distracted by the social media company and less engaged in running Tesla.
On Tuesday, shares of Twitter traded just under $50, below the $54.20 purchase price. Twitter will offer a glimpse into the health of its business when it reports its quarterly financial results Thursday.
US President Joe Biden “has long argued that tech platforms must be held accountable for the harms they cause”, including through legislative efforts to require more transparency, Psaki added.
“In terms of what hypothetical policies might happen, I’m just not going to speak to that at this point in time.”
Amnesty International USA’s director of technology and human rights, Michael Kleinman, also said that regardless of ownership, “Twitter has a responsibility to protect human rights, including the rights to live free from discrimination and violence and to freedom of expression and opinion – a responsibility that they already too often fail”.
