In a few weeks, billionaire Elon Musk went from joking to buying the social platform Twitter for $44 billion. What seems as much a whim as a strategic economic choice will have important consequences for this social media. As a result, the future and the power of this type of platform are questioned.
” Freedom of expression is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital public square where issues vital to the future of humanity are debated. proclaims Elon Musk, who will soon be master on board the social network. He adds : ” Twitter has extraordinary potential, I will unlock it. However, behind the grandiloquence, the power and financial negotiations that were played out live for subscribers to the Elon Musk accountvisionary boss of You’re here and of Space Xlook like an episode of the series Succession. The transaction itself seems disproportionate. For comparison, Jeff Bezos in 2013 bought the washington post for 250 million dollars, today it is more than 180 Washington Posts that Elon Musk offers himself with 44 billion dollars.
In order to understand this excess, we have to go back to 2018, to the origin of what seems to be the psychological trigger for this financial operation. Because, when Elon Musk invokes freedom of expression, he thinks above all of his freedom. The entrepreneur can’t stand having limits set for him. Yet that’s what happened to him when he publicly tweeted strategic information about his electric vehicle company Tesla. In his tweets, the South African-born leader questioned his entrepreneurial choices and caused his company’s stock market prices to waver as a result.
Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018
Disclosure of financial information violates the laws of the market. Elon Musk was called to order by American regulatory bodies, he was even reminded that his corporate communication (and consequently his tweets) had to be monitored and approved upstream.
“Am I fired or am I rich? »
It then became a personal matter for this visionary who went from annoyance to entreaty, from the desire to participate to taking power. Last stroke of poker, the billionaire bought Twitter.
Today, there are many questions about the future of the company, such as this from an employee of the platform: “ Am I fired or am I rich? “Maybe both, some respond to him under his tweet.
Can someone just tell me if I’m rich or fired please
—Ned Miles (@nedmiles) April 25, 2022
In a press release, Twitter says the proposal should be finalized by the end of 2022. And with the arrival of Elon Musk, for sure, the Twitter blue bird will never be the same.
“His mission to expand the light of consciousness”
In A true story of money, power, friendship and betrayalNick Bilton recounts the adventures of this platform, created in 2006 and which has become essential worldwide. We learn there that Twitter has experienced many upheavals, managerial about-faces and faced takeover attempts by Yahoo! or facebook. Al Gore, a big fan of the platform, predicted the immense power of influence of this communication tool that is Twitter on a global scale. Since the noisy arrival of Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, one of the founders, says: ” I trust his mission to expand the light of consciousness “, then he judges:” Elon’s goal to create a platform of maximum confidence and broadly inclusive is the right one (…) We are on the right path, I believe in it with all my heart. Yet it was he himself who decided to banish US President Donald Trump’s platform, even if he regretted this decision.
Elon’s goal of creating a platform that is “maximally trusted and broadly inclusive” is the right one. This is also @paraga‘s goal, and why I chose him. Thank you both for getting the company out of an impossible situation. This is the right path…I believe it with all my heart.
— jack⚡️ (@jack) April 26, 2022
Because the reactions to the takeover are not only economic, many fear for the future of Twitter which has become a diplomatic tool unavoidable : ” Musk bought not just a very expensive new toy, but a global community that includes 330 million regular users. Controlling such an important platform comes with equally important responsibilities commented Jessica Gonzalez, co-director of the NGO Free Press.
Space travel is easier than moderating Twitter.
” Whatever the new shareholding, Twitter will now have to fully adapt to European rules said Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, referring to the new regulation on digital services, Digital Services Act (DSA), concluded on Saturday by EU lawmakers and which will force the major platforms to better fight against illegal content. He added : ” Whether it is on online harassment, the sale of counterfeit products, child pornography, calls for terrorist acts, Twitter will have to adapt to our European regulations which do not exist in the United States. »
From cars to digital platforms, any business operating in Europe must comply with our rules.
And this, regardless of the shareholding.
Mr. Musk knows this very well.
He knows the rules ?? when it comes to cars and will quickly adapt to the #DSA.
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) April 26, 2022
According to Boris Johnson’s spokesman: Regardless of their owner, all social networks must be responsible, which includes the protection of their users against harmful content. How are they going to proceed now in the premises of Twitter? What changes will be made? Essential questions that seem insoluble for some social media experts, including Nick Bilton reporting that Elon Musk will learn the hard way that space travel is easier than moderating Twitter (referring to Space X, Elon Musk’s launcher and spacecraft manufacturer).
“Worried about the power of large social networks on our daily lives”
Jessica Gonzalez criticizes Elon Musk for using Twitter to attack people he doesn’t like, often in a “ infantile “, encouraged and helped by his “ pack of loyal fans “. The particular protrusions on Twitter of Elon Musk (85 million subscribers) are indeed not exempt from all reproach. The richest man in the world shows himself as a spoiled child, even a stalker, who does not hesitate to make questionable jokes about Bill Gates’ physique, inappropriate remarks on the dangers of the woke virus on Netflix…
According to Marie Turcan, journalist at Numeramawho noted the slippages of the billionaire: “she tweets are very often stupid, sometimes dangerous. »
Joe Biden, the President of the United States, said to himself “ worried about the power of large social networks on our daily lives “, whatever the boss. As for the former American president, Donald Trump, permanently suspended from Twitter in January 2021 for incitement to violence, he assured that no, he would not return to Twitter, even if according to him: ” Elon Musk is a good person “.
Good ? Good. What does Elon Musk envisage for his future Twitter? ” I want to make Twitter better than ever by improving it with new features, make algorithms “open source” to increase trust, defeat spam bots, and authenticate all humans in working with the company and the community “.
He is also campaigning for the addition of an “edit” button to correct a tweet after publication and is also considering changes in the paid subscription formula. To be continued then…