Elon Musk, Free Speech and Twitter Deal – Why This Raises More Questions than Offers Answers

1. Elon Musk, Free Speech and Twitter Deal – Why This Raises More Questions than Offers Answers After buying 9.2 per cent stake in micro-blogging site Twitter in early April, the world’s richest man Elon Musk is now about to buy the entire stake in the company for a whopping $44 billion. Soon, Twitter is likely to be owned by Elon Musk, or is it? A deal that was all but done, before Musk “temporarily put it on hold”, to ascertain the veracity of a number of “fake” or “spam” accounts on the social media platform. But is this an avenue being explored to get out of the mega deal preceded by acrimonious attempts to ‘save’ the company by existing investors? In contemporary times, Musk is a self-proclaimed champion of free speech and has been advocating several big reforms at Twitter. Musk has repeatedly maintained that the social media micro-blogging site has huge potential that needs to be properly harnessed. While an expression of the same free speech by Twitter’s Board made it difficult for Musk to buy Twitter, however, he was willing, in the event that the deal did not get approval of the Board, to purchase the shares of company at the open market. Musk believes that in today’s era, free speech is the very basis of a functioning democracy – but that was always the case, Mr Musk. He has been portraying himself as a big advocate of free speech when he made a statement that he wants even his critics to stay on Twitter (I don’t think

2. that is his call to take, but, …). But have we not witnessed Mr Musk blocking accounts that are critical of him? Is the commitment to free speech genuine? There are news reports available in the public domain that may not present such a flattering picture. • Tesla employees have claimed that they are made to sign a special clause which prevents them from speaking against the company. Is that not natural for any company to ask from its employees? Possibly the free speech argument only applies to the personal space or when it comes to enforcement against government institutions? • Musk has also faced charges of hacking the company’s computers and tapping the phones of his employees in the year 2018. When one of his employees turned whistleblower and put forth these facts, he was asked to leave. Again, perhaps this could be attributed to breach of employment policy of the company. • Musk has also been in the line of fire for allegedly trying to control the press. Not so long ago, The Wall Street Journal editor Sharon Weinberger said that Elon Musk wanted a thorough review of all the articles related to his company before publishing, so that there is no dent on his image. Weinberger shared the anecdote, saying that after she had interviewed SpaceX employees, she too was asked to share the article for review. Perhaps control of Twitter will obviate the need for giving interviews in future – the platform is now totally controlled. Musk has been celebrated as the poster boy of contemporary capitalist culture and hence it is only expected that the profit motive is strongest in every deal that he seeks. He is very clear, however, that business for his companies should only be done in the manner he would desire. So, the people waiting for the next revolution (after PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla) can certainly hope for that at Twitter. However, these were goods and services. Here, we are talking about an inchoate but hallowed concept of fundamental rights. Given the backdrop, wouldn’t it be too early to say anything? The Musk story, in the very recent past, especially with India, demonstrates the will and need to work not ‘within the existing parameters’, but to demand exception only applicable to his companies. Musk wants to sell Tesla cars in India. However, he is willing to do it only in the manner that he would want. He wants a reduction in import duties. Why the exceptional treatment, Mr Musk? A little earlier, without evaluating the regulatory landscape, or perhaps by miscalculating the consequences, the ambitious access to broadband connectivity using the Starlink satellite

3. network was announced by SpaceX, which was made available to Indian citizens as well, at a nominal cost. Clear intent to commence business in the manner that the founder thought appropriate. Why not check the ground realities before such representations are made to unsuspecting customers? Interestingly, Musk has not just faced such issues in India, but has been at the receiving end of allegations of misrepresentation from the US Securities and Exchange Commission as well. In the year 2018, Musk said that he had enough funds to make the public company Tesla a private one at the rate of $420. When it was investigated by the SEC (US Securities and Exchange Commission), they found his claim completely wrong, resulting in a fine for Musk and Tesla of $20 million each. Analysts believe that if Twitter relaxes its community guideline policies, it could result in increased cases of hate speech, misinformation and violent content on Twitter. Regarding this, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajiv Chandrasekhar, said that even though the Twitter Board has approved the $44 billion purchase agreement of Elon Musk, it would have no effect on the social media guidelines and policies issued by the government. Government is clear that there would be no compromise regarding data privacy and security of the users. Any company willing to do business in India has to strictly adhere to the law of the land. Also, is Twitter (known to make losses) a good commercial bet for Musk? Appears difficult to appreciate the true motive behind this purchase – is protection of free speech the real reason for spending the astronomical sum of money by the investors backing Musk? There are other issues with Twitter as well – what with the recent admission to an incorrect reporting when Twitter revealed its average monetisable daily active users (mDAU), owing to an “error”. This has shockingly revealed that for three years, Twitter overstated the number of its daily users. Will Musk’s inimitable style of functioning and his prior record lead to a course correction? Or will Twitter be used only as a mouthpiece? Only time will tell. Source:- https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/elon-musk-free-speech-and-twitter-deal-why-this-raises- more-questions-than-offers-answers-5205613.html