While Musk didn’t share any details about why he bought shares of Twitter other than posting a tweet on Monday saying, “oh hi lol,” there are some indications of what he might be doing at the California-based company.
While Musk didn’t share any details about why he bought shares of Twitter other than posting a tweet on Monday saying, “oh hi lol,” there are some indications of what he might be doing at the California-based company.
Elon Musk is Twitter’s most famous ‘blue tick’ personality, with over 80 million followers on the platform. The Tesla CEO is a regular user of the micro-blogging site, and has the most outspoken criticism.
Musk had taken a 9.2% stake in the social media platform on Monday, according to a US Securities Exchange filing. He is reported to own 73.5 million shares of the company as of March 14, an announcement that raised the company’s shares to 27% on the New York Stock Exchange.
Musk’s stake is valued at $2.9 billion at Friday’s closing price, and makes him Twitter’s largest shareholder, surpassing the company’s co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey. That size earned him a seat on the board of the social media firm.
While Musk didn’t share any details about why he bought shares of Twitter other than posting a tweet on Monday saying, “oh hi lol,” there are some indications of what he might be doing at the California-based company.
content moderation
In recent days, the billionaire has weighed in on the platform’s commitment to free speech. In some of his tweets, he had informed about the idea of starting his own social media firm, without disclosing the specifics.
On March 24, Musk tweeted a poll, asking his followers whether the platform “strictly adheres to” freedom of expression. More than 70% of the two million users who voted clicked ‘no’.
Musk’s poll comes two weeks after the Twitter handle of US-based parody website Babylon Bee was taken down “for hateful remarks”. The website named Rachel Levine, a transgender official of the US government, “Man of the Year”. The site’s award was in response to USA Today Naming the Government Health Officer “Woman of the Year”.
That piece of satire was posted on Twitter, due to which the platform blocked the handle of the parody account. Responding to Twitter’s suspension, Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon explained in a series of tweets that the platform would not restore the account until Rachel Levine’s tweet was removed. Dillon refused. The site’s handle has now been unblocked, but it has been barred from posting new content.
After Musk joined Twitter’s board, Dylan responded to a two-week-old Poole tweet on Tuesday, saying, “Musk contacted us before picking his followers about Twitter’s commitment to free speech.” Did. He wanted to confirm that we were indeed suspended. He also took note of the call that he might need to buy Twitter.”
In a separate episode, several conservatives took to the microblogging site on Monday to hope that Musk would reverse former US President Donald Trump’s Twitter decision after the infamous January 6 US Capitol attack.
open-source algorithms
Later the same day, on March 24, Musk once again reached out to his followers on Twitter. This time they voted on whether to make the platform’s algorithms open source. The poll was retweeted by co-founder Dorsey with a note “Which algorithm to use (or not) should be open to all.” More than 80% of the millions of odd users who took the poll voted ‘yes’.
Some experts note that making social media algorithms open source may remove misinformation and hate from these platforms. Having an idea of what one platform prioritizes over another will help users gain more information, and prevent bad actors from manipulating the system.
But others say the codes running these platforms are part of a corporation’s trade secret. Balancing disclosure and corporate secrecy will be a difficult task because most tech firms may not even have a team or department that has a full view of how their algorithms work. It remains a black box, which few people have full access to.
Fighting with financial regulators
While creating policies around content moderation and open-source algorithms may take longer on Musk’s Twitter, fighting with financial regulators in the US will be an immediate priority.
That’s because, according to the filing, Musk’s 9.2% holding was disclosed in a form that is required for investors to use if they take more than 5% of the stock without a plan to control the company. But the Tesla CEO will have an active role on Twitter. Also, Musk’s notice was sent to the exchange several days later.
according to a report of wall street journalThe Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has previously taken enforcement action against some people who repeatedly missed the ownership-disclosure deadline. And Musk’s disclosure could hurt him in an ongoing legal battle with the SEC.