The New Boss
Welcome
As this magazine goes to press, Elon Musk, who is attempting to buy Twitter, has announced that, once he ascends to the helm of the micro-blogging colossus, a certain politician who was previously banned from the platform will be let back in. I'll pop in with my usual disclaimer: We talk about tech here, not politics.
Dear Reader,
As this magazine goes to press, Elon Musk, who is attempting to buy Twitter, has announced that, once he ascends to the helm of the micro-blogging colossus, a certain politician who was previously banned from the platform will be let back in. I'll pop in with my usual disclaimer: We talk about tech here, not politics. It doesn't really matter who this politician is or whether you agree with the ban. The question is about whether a sensible process exists for moderating content and whether there will still be one if Musk completes his purchase.
The news of this impending change is causing a stir throughout the Internet. Musk has declared himself a "free speech absolutist" [1] and has said that he considers Twitter to be a public square, where people should be able to say whatever they want. Many are worried about what form this free speech absolutism will take. Twitter critics welcomed the arrival of the platform's moderation policies as a way of restraining the hate, bullying, misogyny, and disinformation (otherwise called lies) that have become associated with the platform, and they worry about what less restrictive moderation could mean for the world.
As is often the case, though, the fine print tells a story that is missing from the headlines. Like most enigmatic billionaires, Mr. Musk has a way of carefully choosing his words and saying several things at the same time. He is clearly courting the users who departed from Twitter when the banned politician started a rival platform, stating that the ban was "morally wrong and flat out stupid" [2]. But if you look to what he really has in mind for policy, the picture gets a bit cloudier. Musk said he does not believe in permanent bans, but he left the door open for temporary suspensions – and the removal of tweets – for speech that is "illegal or otherwise just destructive to the world." He goes on to add, "I think if there are tweets that are wrong and bad, those should be either deleted or made invisible, and a suspension, a temporary suspension is appropriate but not a permanent ban."
So what did Elon just say exactly? If you're not going to allow tweets that are "destructive to the world," you need some form of agent or entity that will determine whether a tweet is destructive or not. And once you work through the details of how to do that, it actually sounds quite a bit like moderation.
It is also interesting that Musk recently met with EU commissioner Thierry Breton and announced that he is "on the same page" with the EU on the proposed Digital Services Act [3], an expansive new law that would require social media companies to police their content more aggressively to remove hate speech and disinformation. He tucked his absolutism away for that meeting. These positions might seem incompatible, however, Musk has stated that he believes moderation should match the laws of the country for which it is intended. (To be fair, the Digital Services Act also has other features that Musk has said he agrees with, such as greater transparency and open algorithms.)
This notion that the platform should match the laws of the country seems in stark contrast to the concept of the free speech absolutism he is touting over here in the USA, and it appears to imply that he would happily comply with the rules imposed by countries such as Russia and China to censor the speech of dissidents. In other words, he won't let his personal values get in the way of business.
The need to do business could indeed temper his aspirations for a free-for-all public square. Musk, always the Twitter enthusiast, was once sued for using his Twitter freedom to call a cave diver who rescued the boys soccer team from the cave a "pedo guy" [4]. He later won the case, with his lawyers making the argument that just because you call someone a "pedo guy" doesn't mean you are calling them a pedophile – that's just the kind of stuff you say about people on Twitter when they don't like your ideas.
If he nurtures an environment where that kind of trash talk flourishes, he might find that a lot of users will just leave. The high-tech community has this way of viewing itself in epic, historical terms as the inevitable vanguard for a new civilization, but the fact is, the only thing that makes Twitter important is that everyone thinks it is important. If news sources quit quoting it, if people quit trusting it, if the market it serves now as a near monopoly breaks into smaller markets aimed at more targeted audiences, Twitter loses – and we know Elon Musk doesn't like to lose.
So maybe the new Twitter won't be so different after all? Or to quote The Who: "Meet the new boss / Same as the old boss."
Joe Casad, Editor in Chief
Infos
- Milmo, Dan. "How 'Free Speech Absolutist' Elon Musk Would Transform Twitter," Guardian, Apr. 14, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/apr/14/how-free-speech-absolutist-elon-musk-would-transform-twitter
- "Elon Musk Says He Would Reverse Twitter's Trump Ban," CNN, May 10, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/10/tech/elon-musk-twitter-trump-ban/index.html
- Elon Musk Says He's 'Very Much on the Same Page' as the EU on Social Media Laws," by Adi Robertson, The Verge, May 10, 2022, https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/10/23065270/elon-musk-twitter-digital-services-act-dsa-european-union-eu-speech-laws-thierry-breton
- Groom, Nichola and Rachel Parsons. "Tesla Boss Elon Musk Wins Defamation Trial," Reuters, Dec. 6, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-musk-lawsuit/tesla-boss-elon-musk-wins-defamation-trial-over-his-pedo-guy-tweet-idUSKBN1YA13U
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs