Elon Musk Takes Over Twitter

After a complicated and tumultuous take over, Tesla founder Elon Musk successfully bought Twitter. Talks of Musk taking over Twitter surfaced in April; however, he then turned around and attempted to back out of the deal in May. After months of legal battles, the $44 billion deal officially closed today (Oct. 28, 2022) with a SEC notification of Twitter’s delisting.

The future of Twitter’s platform is concerning to some and a matter of celebration for others. Along with sweeping firings and appointing himself CEO, Musk has made changes to the company landscape upon arrival. Furthermore, Musk has expressed, on multiple occasions, his desire to limit (or possibly eliminate) the prior practice of suspending accounts. On one hand, “free speech enthusiasts” are optimistic over the likely reinstatement of people previously banned on the platform. On the other hand, others worry about the dangerous rhetoric that might permeate the platform.

What is clear, is that the intrigue around Musk’s takeover is less about a changing of guards and more about a fundamental question of the First Amendment and Section 230. Section 230, which differentiates interactive computer service providers (“platforms”) from publishers, gives substantial legal protections for not editing the material they publish. Critiques have long expressed that tech giants such as Twitter and Facebook are not platforms but publishers because of their terms of services that companies apply to remove content.

As debates around speech and social media continue to be relevant, all eyes will be on Musk and his new acquisition. Given Musk’s prior statements, it is likely the platform will be undergoing significant policy changes. Whether those policy changes are positive or negative is for you to decide.