Elon Musk's decision to buy Twitter has raised a series of red flags for users and policymakers alike. Free speech absolutists believe anything goes and therefore the internet's "de facto town square" as Musk once called Twitter, should allow anyone to publish anything. That is the pinnacle of free speech, is it not?
But there are of course limits to what free speech is. The more well-known rule is that one cannot just yell "fire" in a crowded movie theater. The question is, how does this manifest itself on a platform like Twitter and who is doing the moderating?
Musk believes in looser content moderation and aims to change the way Twitter censored certain posts. He also wants to eliminate bots and spam on Twitter - a formidable challenge - as it is well-known that numerous bots are found on the platform and spam is a constant headache. The question though is how he plans to accomplish this if at the same time he also wants to make the company's algorithm open-source. This would likely only exacerbate the problem of bots and spam.
Musk's potential takeover (anything can happen in the next six months before the sale is approved) can also spell disaster for free speech - the very right he proclaims to champion - if he allows those banned by Twitter (such as former president Donald Trump) to return to the platform. If you cannot yell fire, then you cannot allow Trump back on Twitter. It's that simple. And there are plenty others like him who need to be kept far away from the platform if it is meant to be a town square meant as a place to share ideas and not scaremonger or create panic the way Trump has done in the past.
The fear of the spread of disinformation, now amplified by Musk's potential takeover of Twitter, has users up in arms out of fear of those they believe will use the platform to yell "fire." Policymakers on Capitol Hill are also concerned over what they view a hostile takeover of a massive company that gives its owner too much power and sway. The level of influence social media platforms hold is enormous. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is another example of an uberwealthy individual with too much power and lawmakers are not happy about it.
Hopefully the recently created Department of Homeland Security Disinformation Governance Board will find a way to curtail Musk's power at Twitter and find solutions to maintaining free speech on social media platforms.
