Elon Musk has not yet put down the 44 billion agreed for theTwitter purchase which is already at loggerheads with the EU Commission. From Brussels there are threats of sanctions and even of “banning”, from the mouth of the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, who in an interview with the Financial Times warns: “We welcome everyone, we are open, but on our terms. And to Musk we say: Elon these are the rules, you are welcome, but the rules that apply here are not your rules. ” The EU Commission, in fact, has recently launched new rules that will force the technological and digital giants to filter online content more aggressively, while the industrial volcanic focuses entirely on free expression, which it considers “the backbone of the functioning of democracy” , and appears more than ever willing to loosen the mechanisms for controlling and moderating content on the social network.
But Breton is very clear on this point: if the social network does not comply with the new Digital Service Act “there are penalties of up to 6% of revenues and in case of recidivism there is a ban from Europe”. Musk’s landing on Twitter does not only worry Brussels: the British government has also issued a warning so that users of the social network (and their safety) remain protected. “It is too early to say whether there will be any changes in the way Twitter operates, but regardless of who owns it, all social media must be responsible for protecting users,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Changes in the social network model will certainly take place, given the permanent conflict between Musk and the previous management. Tesla’s boss (who yesterday lost 12.18% on Wall Street by burning 110 billion precisely in relation to the acquisition of the new toy) has already claimed that he does not want to use Twitter as a new source of income, but simply as a “return to civilization “from the point of view of freedom of expression (and on the wave of this statement, Twitter also yesterday lost 3.6% on the stock exchange).
The first challenge will focus on former US President Donald Trump: after the events of January 6, with the uprising on Capitol Hill, the readmission of Trump su Twitter it would be very questionable, but precisely on his figure it will be possible to understand the direction that Musk will want to take, if strictly consistent with his principles or more realistic. Another challenge is posed by censorship: Musk must decide whether to apply it or remove it altogether even in the case of terrorist activities, disinformation by authoritarian governments and no-vax groups or sharing controversial or illegal opinions and behavior. The first concrete sign of the new management could be the introduction of the much discussed “edit” button, for the subsequent modification of the tweets already published, albeit with the specifications that the South African entrepreneur had already publicly highlighted.
In one of his poll on the platform, 73% of his followers said they were in favor. Until now, the functionality had been sidelined for one reason only: the changes, as founder Jack Dorsey has repeatedly repeated, could have tainted public discussion. Given Musk’s more casual attitude, Twitter may now change its mind. In spite of all doubts, however, a clear signal of approval came from Dorsey, who promptly blessed Musk’s purchase of the company.