Opening Twitter up to more open free-wheeling conversation could potentially alienate users by opening them up to abusive comments
Without policing some speech – such as hate speech and harassment – Prof. Martin said platforms are at risk of “silencing entire groups that don’t feel comfortable anymore, whether it’s women, the trans community, gay community, racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants. I mean, there’s just different groups that might feel uncomfortable posting things, because they know they’re going to be targeted.
Mr. Musk is expected to take Twitter private, which would reduce public pressure on a company that eked out profits in only two of the past 10 years. Michele Austin, Twitter’s director of public policy for Canada and the United States, told the House of Commons standing committee on public safety and national security Tuesday that the company cannot speculate about how Mr. Musk’s purchase of the social-media giant could affect operations, which may take months. “For now, there will be no changes as a result of the announcement, and any changes will be publicly communicated on Twitter,” she said.
Mr. Musk’s view of protecting free speech appears to be about minimizing the number of posts and accounts that are removed. But even far-right platforms that brand themselves as bastions of free speech, such as Parler and Gab, need some content policing. All platforms are subject to copyright takedowns, for instance, or the removal of materials related to child sexual abuse.
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