More Moderation, More Problems

2022-04-08 DEVYNMARANO Uncategorized Comments Off on More Moderation, More Problems

As it turns out, platform content moderation can be paid off – if you’re Elon Musk

Introduction

The internet’s flashy headline of the week was the announcement of Elon Musk’s Twitter investment purchase, making him the largest shareholder on the board. While some may read that news and think, ‘Sure, why not, he has the money to buy anything,’ and after the updated report of stock value, Twitter is likely thinking Musk is similar to King Midas, it is important to recall Musk’s history with the controversial platform, and all of the steps that led up to this momentous deal. Given that Musk and Twitter have been at odds for almost the entirety of their relationship, it begs to question what moral and ethical decisions were considered when Musk was approved to purchase Twitter stock and gain a board seat. Could a Big Tech giant like Twitter remain just and unbiased in its moderation of all users, if one of them happens to be a large powerhouse user and ‘passive’ board member?

This article dives into the background of Musk and Twitter’s relationship, analyzing at a narrow scope the ways in which Musk was judged to breach Twitter’s unofficial code of content moderation. It takes a look at how a very public and opinionated opponent of a Big Tech company (at least in regards to social media) could end up becoming a board member, without yet announcing whether or not that will be an active role. I question what it means ethically and morally for Twitter to accept Musk’s investment, and whether there is precedence for this type of arrangement. Lastly, I will theorize the effects this deal could have on the future of Twitter, and if this will help or harm society’s good fight in platform content moderation. 

A Violent History

Elon Musk is most well-known for his futuristic Batmobile-esque company, Tesla. As co-founder, CEO, and chief engineer of Tesla’s intergalactic branch, SpaceX, Musk is notorious for dropping new innovation announcements (or even launching space crafts) without notice. It is truly Musk’s world, and we are simply living in it. So is it any surprise that he has repeatedly objected to the chains that Twitter tried to hold him in? No. Did we expect them to become partners instead? Also no. 

Not that Twitter is the victim in the self-proclaimed War on Musk’s Twitter Account; nobody can be considered innocent when there are no sturdy rules or guidelines to map out these situations. According to ARIN6902’s Week 5 presentation, source undisclosed, in the early 2010’s former CEO’s of Twitter Jack Dorsey and Dick Costolo made strong statements about the platform co-existing with the Freedom of Speech, and ensuring that the company symbolized the need to ‘speak truth to power.’ However, within a short time later, Twitter was not able to keep up with the false information and harassment that flooded the platform hourly, and started the conversation of moderating attackers. Since then, Twitter has received hostile treatment from big celebrity and political names, especially on the conservative side, accusing the platform of ignoring freedom of speech. 

This brings us to 2018, when loud and proud Musk, excited about the achievements of Tesla, announced via Twitter that he had ‘funding secured’ and was considering taking the company private: 

As a result of this, the SEC suspected Musk of fraudulent activity against his shareholders for making this claim, and began an investigation against him and Tesla. The court case ended in Musk paying civil fines (along with Tesla) and he was forced to accept a decree in which all of his tweets would first be read by Tesla lawyers before being shared (Stempel, 2022). Musk was far from a gracious loser, and has publicly made it known that he felt pressured to accept the decree, and that his freedom of speech was under attack from both the SEC and Twitter. Since then, Musk has been vocal via tweets about his concerns over Twitter’s moderation tactics, almost always with an accusatory tone. Given the animosity between Musk and Twitter, it was truly a surprise felt around the world to learn that the former became one of the largest shareholders of the latter earlier this week.

A Change Of Heart

Fast forward to April 1, 2022, when Musk was announced to have bought shares of Twitter, becoming one of the largest shareholders in the process. Many questioned if this was an April Fools prank, but Friday’s SEC report proved it was not. In this transaction, Musk surpassed every other sharehold of Twitter, including former CEO and main adversary at the time of his reign, Jack Dorsey. It is almost comparable to trying to punish a child for breaking his crayons, and instead he purchases Crayola. That will show you. 

It could be worse, as we’re still shaking off the ‘ick’ left by Trump’s shallow promises to launch a revolutionary tech platform in response to being kicked off of Twitter himself early last year. In fact, when considering platform content moderation on Twitter, Trump could be seen as the brightest example of how to get your account banned for life, when he was accused by the company for igniting social injustice and unrest that led to the attack of the Capitol in January 2021 (Clayton, 2022). May we all sleep well tonight knowing that he didn’t think of Musk’s plan to become a shareholder of the company instead. 

So while Twitter is attempting to find the perfect balance of free speech and content moderation in order to bat off false claims and harassment, where will new board member Elon Musk stand? Knowing that he is strongly against content moderation, can he be swayed by Twitter’s manifesto, or will it be reversed?

Deal Or No Deal

When assessing that deal that took place and landed Musk the most valuable board seat, albeit ‘passive’ one for now, two key points are worth noting: 

The first being that the price for which Musk bought his shares has not been disclosed, only valued at $2.9 billion. By the time the weekend ended and Monday commenced, his shares were valued at $3.5 billion (Isidore, 2022). If and when this piece of information comes out, it will have the power to set a precedent on the ongoing battleground of politicians v. business owners v. Big Tech. Should Jeff Bezos have a bone to pick with Facebook, will he become an investor instead? If Kylie Jenner has some words for Instagram, will she be made the next CFO of the platform instead? There is no point in denying the effect that these heavy influencers have on the creation and need of Internet Guidance, especially if instead of fixing and debating an online issue, we’re now paying it off (or worse, becoming an owner of the platform to run it how one individual sees fit. I won’t take democracy for $100, Alex).

The second important fact to look at is the rise of Twitter’s stock after Musk’s arrival announcement. Within days of the news, Twitter celebrated its best day since IPO, with shares exceeding 27% per an SEC filing (Bursztynsky, 2022). Could this be the reason why Twitter threw up the white flag and allowed Musk to cross the drawbridge? Do popularity and financial gain justify the potential (and predictable) refrain of moderation?

This collaboration comes shortly after Twitter announced CEO Jack Dorsey’s replacement late last year with Parag Agrawal, an admirable adversary who critics expected was gearing up to battle heavy hitters such as Musk. Rather than fight in a battle zone and risk missing dinner, perhaps it was Agrawal’s idea to sit calmly with Musk and listen to his needs instead. According to an equity analyst at JMP Securities, Musk is considered a ‘power user,’ who now owns 9.2% of the company (Brown, 2022). The question that remains is whether the vision of Twitter’s future aligns in both men’s heads. (Alas, where is the female figure in all of this?) 

Are You There God? It’s Me, Elon

It may be too soon to tell how impactful Musk’s supposed ‘passive’ seat on Twitter’s board will be, or it could land with a splash in our faces tomorrow morning; that is the power of high-speed internet. Musk has already caused the dust to suspend midair, when he tweeted a poll shortly after the stock announcement, asking whether Twitter users would want an ‘edit’ feature. 

Twitter CEO Agrawal responded by encouraging voters to proceed with caution in their answer. What this would entail exactly, Musk and Twitter have kept hush-hush about. It would almost appear that Agrawal is following Musk’s lead in future changes of Twitter. But given Musk’s confidence and proven determination, Twitter users would best expect changes amid the newest board member’s arrival. Freedom of speech advocacy has a face, and he now owns the largest piece of Twitter pie. Is the government’s head still spinning?

Conclusion

In conclusion, Elon Musk and Twitter may have shocked us all with the announcement of their business transaction, though nothing should surprise us anymore. Market fluctuations that were once determined by economic factors such as inflation or unemployment could now be swayed by the news of a Big Tech company founder buying into another Big Tech company. Fans of Musk may be celebrating and waiting to post their unsolicited and unmoderated opinions, while people wary of Musk’s outbursts and ideals could be editing their iPhone home screen. We all wait in limbo to see if Twitter will pursue Musk’s ideology, or if Musk will meet them in the middle and influence users to post freely, but moderately (should such a thing exist). 

With great power (in the market) comes great responsibility (not normally shown by Big Tech founders looking for more power).  As of today, neither Musk nor Twitter have broken any laws with this investment deal, but perhaps that is because the government is still debating as to whether this could be a good or bad chess move. SEC claims to be reviewing the market structure amid the GameStop, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin controversies of this past year, but they’re holding their plans tightly against their chest  (Michaels & Osipovich, 2021). There is no policy in place to guide such an investment purchase as the one that occurred this week, so I will be keeping a close ear to the ground as we wait for more announcements and reactions to Musk’s newest purchase. If anything, maybe this means Twitter will be the first platform to exist on Mars. That is a bit of a scary thought. 

 

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