Domain Money founder and CEO Adam Dell argues that Elon Musk has a “reasonable approach” to the Twitter platform.
As news of Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter spread across the social media world, the NAACP urged Tesla’s CEO to rid the platform of hate speech and falsehoods and uphold a ban on former -President Donald Trump.
“Mr Musk: Free speech is great, hate speech is unacceptable. Misinformation, disinformation and hate speech have NO PLACE on Twitter,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. “Don’t let the 45 back on the platform. Don’t let Twitter become a petri dish for hate speech, or the lies that subvert our democracy. Protecting our democracy is of the utmost importance, especially as the midterm elections approach. Mr. Musk: Lives are at risk, and so is American democracy.”
Musk made the funds available to buy Twitter after weeks of speculation about how he would govern the platform if the acquisition went through. He was initially invited to join Twitter’s board, but declined.
ELON MUSK TAKES ON TWITTER TO EXPLAIN ‘WHAT IS MEAN BY FREE SPEECH’
Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during a news conference at SpaceX’s Starbase facility near the village of Boca Chica in South Texas on February 10, 2022. Musk will buy Twitter for $44 billion. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The transaction is expected to close in 2022, subject to Twitter stockholder approval, receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Twitter’s independent board chairman Brett Taylor said the company “undertook a thoughtful and comprehensive process to evaluate Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, security and financing.”
Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” has been critical of CEO Parag Agrawal’s platform and approach to free speech.
“Free speech is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where vital issues for the future of humanity are debated,” he said in a statement on Monday. “I also want to make Twitter better than ever by improving the product with new features, open-sourcing the algorithms to increase trust, defeating spam bots and authenticating all people. Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the user community to unlock it.”
Liz Peek and Kara Frederick weigh in on the fight against free speech on ‘Fox Business Tonight.’
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) noted that Musk was a “charter member” and “one of our most important supporters,” but warned of the danger of allowing one person to wield so much power.
“In today’s world, a handful of private technology companies — including Twitter — play a profound and unique role in enabling our right to express ourselves online,” the ACLU’s Executive Director said in a statement. , Anthony Romero. “Social media is a critical tool used to share ideas, express opinions, and consume information that has real-life impacts on discourse in the offline world. We should be concerned about any central powerful actor, whether government or any wealthy individual — even if he’s a member of the ACLU — having so much control over the boundaries of our political speech online.”
In recent years, Twitter has found itself at a crossroads amid intense scrutiny from both sides of the political aisle.
Conservatives have claimed that the platform is silent and arbitrarily enforces its rules. Trump used Twitter daily to promote his policies and attack his enemies. Many progressives accused the social media giant of allowing it to promote lies and conspiracy theories that could result in violence.
Elon Musk and Parag Agrawal. (Reuters | Twitter Photos / Reuters)
Trump’s account was permanently suspended after the January 6, 2021 uprising at the Capitol, after weeks of claiming that President Biden’s election victory was not legitimate.
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“After a close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context surrounding them — specifically how they are received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further inciting violence.” said Twitter. two days after the riots.
Lucas Manfredi of Fox Business contributed to this report.
