What is the Problem with Elon Musk Buying Twitter?
Elon Musk has been a controversial topic of discussion as of late. From his questionable leadership of Tesla to his now ownership of Twitter, the maverick entrepreneur seems to have his hands in everything. Musk bought out a major stake in Twitter in early February, leaving many wondering what this could mean for the future of the social media platform.
When you look at Musk’s track record, it raises a lot of questions. His disregard for traditional business practices has often been seen as disorderly and a vast majority of Tesla customers have voiced their concerns about his decision making. Now with Twitter in the picture, it’s difficult to ascertain what effects this could have. Could community-driven initiatives be overlooked in favor of injecting profit into the platform? Could we see drastic changes to the platform’s service or privacy policies?
When it comes to the financial reserve, Musk is a master dealmaker. His resilience and passion when it comes to pursuing his visions have been rather admirable. But this often leads to overexertion of resources, whether they be monetary or mental. This isn’t the first time Musk has made an investment in a social media platform. Long before his Twitter purchase, Musk had plucked up stakes in the form of early seed funding to ventures like Instagram and Spotify.
Concerning the security of the platform, one can’t help but be a tad bit unsettled. Musk’s past dealings have often been characterized as somewhat controversial and he himself has said that there could be possible holes or points of exploitation in his various products or services. This leaves the platform vulnerable to attack from hackers or malicious actors and could put the privacy or safety of users at risk.
Experts that have spoken about this issue point towards the issue of power dynamics and how the platform will be controlled. Elon Musk holds the majority of the power when it comes to how Twitter is run and operated and some experts have voiced their concerns about how this could potentially lead to a downward spiral for the platform. The changes that Musk wants to push through could potentially lead to censorship of certain topics or conversations thereby disadvantaging certain individuals or user groups.
Finally, there is the matter of the platform’s accessibility. Musk’s investments in Twitter most likely aren’t aimed at making the platform more accessible, but rather making it more profitable. With increasing profits, comes increased influence and buying power, but this could lead to the exclusion of certain demographics due to the introduction of financial barriers. Accessibility should always be focused on providing the little guy with equal footing when it comes to reaching out to relevant audiences.
The Impact of Musks Investments
When talking about the overall concern of Musk’s investments in Twitter, one must take into account the possible repercussions of such an acquisition. Depending on who you ask, you could get a range of answers. Some might argue that this will have no consequence barring financial gain as Musk already has a great deal of influence in the industry. Others argue that this could lead to an overarching and ever-branching control over almost all social media platforms.
Furthermore, these investments could be an opportunity to fund controversial projects within the platform. Musk had previously been planning to lead the development on the world’s largest lithium-ion battery in terms of capacity, but due to a lack of capital, the project had been stalled prior to this buyout. Now that production can progress, this could be a huge opportunity for innovation and to accelerate the process of widespread green energy acceptance.
On the other hand, this could also be a way for Musk to gain complete control over the platform. By boosting his profits, Musk could look towards creating a new social media platform or using his newfound resources to indulge in further activities. This could be bad for smaller user groups as promotions and marketing campaigns would need massive funds to be effective. This could make it impossible for them to have their voice heard.
Long Term Effects
The long-term implications of this move are still unclear. As of now, the consensus leans towards scepticism. Too much of anything can be bad and the doubt here is that this could lead to potential misuse or abuse of power.
The worry is that this could lead to the proliferation of radicalism and that sensitive topics and debates could be shut down due to fear of backlash. After all, Twitter is a rather vulnerable platform and with Musk’s power it could lead to a slanted (and misguided) sway of opinions that could eventually lead to a skewed view of certain topics or issues.
It is pertinent to note, however, that Musk is quite passionate about the subject of protecting the environment and many of his previous investments and progressions have been focused around this one issue. If he were to be able to marshal his newfound resources and money, he could theoretically make a much larger impact in this area than before.
The Influence of Big Tech
Musk’smove towards Twitter has raised some serious questions concerning the power of Big Tech and the access to resources hat it provides. This may provide an insight into the future of modern technology and the utilisation of social media, with bigger and more powerful companies being able to influence the public in ways that have never been done before.
This could serve as a major catalyst for change in the industry and the way in which it is contained. Musk’s investment could caer the way for new innovative technologies that may harness the power of big tech to the advantage of the public. On the other hand, the drawbacks of having too much power in the hands of Big Tech could lead to debatable topics being censored and genuine concerns of the public not being taken into account.
Big tech companies hold the fate of millions in their hands and with Musk now entering the fray, it is essential that the public becomes more aware of how their decisions (and money) could be used. The aim should always be towards empowering the public and giving them a platform to express their opinions without hindrance.
The Social Media Bubble
Finally, the issue of the ever growing peculiarities of the social media bubble must be discussed. With companies pumping out advertisements and messaging campaigns at breakneck speeds, it is no wonder why public opinion often becomes more easily swayed.
The presence of big tech could potentially inflame the matter further, as companies become more powerful and influential they may be able to censor the messages that they dislike. This could be detrimental to any genuine message that may be shared by a user or a group and could take away the freedom of speech that social media provides.
The question of privacy also arises here. Many tech giants have been known to gather data on their users and this could lead to targeted advertisement campaigns that may unintentionally carry a biased message. So, whilst the dynamism that Musk brings could invigorate the spirit of social media, the potential downfalls shouldn‘t be overlooked.
The Effects on the Small Businesses
One of the key issues of big tech presence on social media is the potential implications it could have on smaller businesses and start-ups. With more power comes more influence and this could mean that bigger companies may get access to more resources and bigger budget campaigns, leaving smaller businesses unable to compete unless they can find alternative means of generating capital.
Without protection, the businesses lack protection and could be targeted for removal or dissolution. Smaller businesses make an impact in their own communities and the introduction of big tech could lead to a gradual gentrification of the platform, effectively putting these much needed services at risk.
The aim must always be towards an equal footing for smaller businesses and start-ups, allowing them to also be able to survive and reach the same level of success without being drowned out by bigger and louder companies. This can be achieved through better accessibility and regulations that protect smaller businesses from those with a surplus of power.
The Protection of Citizens
Citizens must also be protected from the potential disasters that could arise from big tech presence on social media. Regulations must be put in place that ensure that the privacy of citizens is not being breached and that data is not being sold to third parties without proper consent. The current regulations surrounding data protection and privacy is inadequate and needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
Furthermore, the presence of big tech must not lead to the oversimplification of topics and the distortion of facts to convince people of certain opinions or conspiracies. There must be regulations in place that ensure that citizens are being provided with the tools to form and express their own opinions without having them coerced or influenced through shady tactics.
The responsibility of protecting citizens against the manipulation of the public lies on the shoulders of all parties involved. Regulation of the platform and the introduction of better privacy mechanisms to ensure that companies cannot easily access users data, is a must if progression is to be made in protecting citizens from the quasi-tyrannical reign of Big Tech on social media.
