Tesla automaker CEO Elon Musk will become the next owner of the Twitter social network, after he struck a deal to buy the platform for US$44 billion and promised to turn it into a private company.
If this materializes, the next step for the American billionaire would be to plan how he could implement the new features he promised, how he could make the algorithm public for peer review and how he could defeat the scourge of bots that imitate real users. Mr. Musk will also have to define how Twitter will begin to “authenticate all humans,” as he wrote in the statement announcing the agreement he reached with the company on Monday. What the billionaire really meant remains unclear.
Many experts who have spent years studying Twitter wonder if Mr. Musk really understands what he’s getting into buying the social network. After all, many platforms have launched in recent years revering freedom of speech, but many have struggled to deal with the toxic content posted there.
” This decision [de M. Musk] demonstrates how content moderation has annoyed people in positions of authority,” says Kirsten Martin, professor of technology ethics at Notre Dame University in Indiana. “I would worry about how it might change Twitter’s values. »
Separately, the fact that no other potential investors came forward after Mr. Musk announced his intentions is a sign that some of them find it too difficult to improve Twitter, according to the analyst. at Third Bridge Scott Kessler.
“The current platform is very similar to what was online for the past 10 years. There are a lot of very capable people who have tried to make improvements to it, but it hasn’t been easy. It would probably be difficult to make much progress. »
Mr. Musk received an unexpected, but also rather abstract, endorsement from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. The company’s former CEO hailed Mr Musk’s decision to “take Twitter off Wall Street”. But others familiar with Twitter still say they are appalled that the company accepted the Tesla boss’s offer. “Twitter is going to let a man who acts like a child basically take over their platform,” said Leslie Miley, a former Twitter employee who also worked for Google and Apple.
Miley, who was Twitter’s only black engineer in a senior role when he left the company in 2015, also wondered if Musk understands the scale of the challenge ahead. . “I’m not sure Elon understands what he’s going to buy. He may realize that owning Twitter is not the same as wanting Twitter. »
For freedom of expression
The lax content moderation approach Mr. Musk envisions has many users worried that the platform will become more of a haven for misinformation, hate speech and bullying. Wall Street analysts have also warned Mr. Musk that if he goes too far, the change could repel advertisers.
Mr Musk has described himself as a “free speech absolutist”, but he is also known to block or disparage other Twitter users who question him or disagree with him.
In recent weeks, he has proposed easing content restrictions on Twitter — including those related to the suspension of former US President Donald Trump’s account — while ridding the platform of fake accounts and moving away from advertising as a main source of income.
The future owner thinks he can increase the company’s revenue through paid subscriptions that provide a better experience, which could include an ad-free version of Twitter.
When asked by attendees at a TED talk if there were limits to his notion of freedom of expression, Mr. Musk assured that Twitter would respect the various national laws that frame freedom of expression around the world.
But beyond that, he is said to be “very reluctant” to delete posts or ban users who violate company rules. It won’t be perfect, he added, “but I think we really want there to be a perception that speech is as free as reasonably possible.”
Some users indicated on Monday that they would quit the platform if Mr. Musk took possession of it. To which he replied on Twitter: “I hope even my worst critics stay on Twitter because that’s what free speech means. »