Elon Musk's Acquisition Of Twitter Could Turn This Platform Into A Platform For Bullying

Elon Musk makes Twitter even wilder. (photo: twitter @elonmusk)

JAKARTA - Elon Musk's criticism of Twitter Inc has sparked a barrage of abusive tweets against the company's top lawyer on Wednesday, April 27. This raises questions about its compliance with the non-insult agreement and user commentary that the social media platform's new owner will set out.

Elon Musk's tweet stated that he disagreed with the decision Twitter made in 2020 to limit the distribution of New York Post articles about US President Joe Biden's son, Hunter. The global conglomerate, which has about 87 million followers on Twitter, called the company's decision to lock the NY Post account on the platform "severely inappropriate."

Listen, I can't do miracles ok pic.twitter.com/z7dvLMUXy8

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 28, 2022

Elon Musk, who managed to acquire Twitter for $44 billion Monday, April 25, responding to a tweet by podcast host Saagar Enjeti about Vijaya Gadde, the executive who oversees Twitter's legal and policy team.

Enjeti described Gadde as "a top censorship supporter on Twitter who famously lit up the world on Joe Rogan's podcast and censored Hunter Biden's laptop stories." Gadde later became the subject of a wave of personal attacks by Twitter users on the platform.

Twitter's merger agreement with Musk stipulates that Musk may tweet about the deal, "as long as the Tweet does not disparage the Company or its Representatives."

There is no indication that Twitter, which signed the deal with Musk after deciding on its attractive offer, will seek to cancel the sale due to his recent criticism.

Dick Costolo, the former chief executive of Twitter, criticized Musk for the move. "Bullying is not leadership.. What happened? You made an executive at the company you just bought the target of harassment and threats," Costolo tweeted.

Musk later tweeted at Costolo: "What's the talk? I'm just saying Twitter should be politically neutral."

Musk is also considering discussions about Twitter's deputy general counsel, Jim Baker. In response to critical comments made in a tweet on Mike Chernovich's personal account about Baker, Musk replied: "That sounds pretty bad."

Baker did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on this.

Katie Harbath, a former director of public policy at Facebook, a subsidiary of Meta Platform Inc, who now heads consultancy Anchor Change, said Musk's criticism of Twitter's content moderation raises concerns that he could override recommendations from the team tasked with establishing policies and procedures.

A key question, Harbath said, is whether Musk "will replace the people on Twitter with people who align with his point of view."

Others worry that Twitter's efforts to tackle harassment, misinformation and misinformation might take a step back under Musk's leadership.

"Musk's pursuit of his normal day-to-day activities on Twitter exacerbates the worst aspects of the site and undermines the good work people have done on Twitter," said Adam Conner, vice president for technology policy at the Center for American Progress.

While Musk's activity on Twitter is attracting new scrutiny because of his deal last Monday to acquire the company, the world's richest man is no stranger to controversy and criticism on the platform.

Last October, Musk criticized Missy Cummings, a Duke University professor employed as an advisor by the US vehicle safety regulator, in a tweet, immediately followed by an online personal attack on Cummings' account.

Cumming, a longtime critic of Tesla's driver assistant software, later deleted his Twitter account over the attack.

In 2018, Musk referred to a British diver as a "pedo guy" after he downplayed Musk's idea of using a SpaceX mini-submarine to rescue a boys' soccer team trapped in a cave in Thailand.

"If he proves unable to defuse the polarization, Twitter will slowly start to become less relevant because certain kinds of conversations can no longer take place there," said David A. Kirsch, professor of management and entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland.