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Free speech or hate speech? Fears for Musk’s Twitter

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Free speech or hate speech? Fears for Musk's Twitter

Elon Musk. – © POOL/AFP/File Britta Pedersen

Peter HUTCHISON

Elon Musk describes himself as a “free-speech absolutist,” leaving rights groups fearful that Twitter will provide a forum for hate speech and disinformation under his ownership.

The world’s richest man has signaled that, following his $44 billion takeover, he intends to reform what he sees as over-zealous policing of tweets.

Civil activists are worried that means Musk, 50, will allow banned extremists back to the platform.

“The last thing we need is a Twitter that willfully turns a blind eye to violent and abusive speech against users, particularly those most disproportionately impacted, including such as women, non-binary persons, and others,” Michael Kleinman, technology and human rights director at Amnesty International USA, said in a statement.

Like other social media networks, Twitter has struggled against disinformation, bullying and hate-fuelled content in recent years.

It has banned numerous users for promoting violence or threatening or attacking people based on their race, religion, gender identity or disability, among other forms of discrimination.

High-profile people removed from the platform include former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and ex-president Donald Trump.

Twitter has also cracked down on lies about Covid-19 and removed thousands of accounts linked to the far-right “QAnon” movement, whose followers believe Trump is waging a secret war against a global liberal cult of Satan-worshipping pedophiles.

Many conspiracy theorists joined newer, far-right-friendly platforms such as Gab and Parler.

Trump, who was banned after the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6 last year as they sought to overturn the 2020 US presidential election result, vowed not to return to Twitter even if Musk reinstated him.

But conservatives, who have long complained about social media platforms being run by Silicon Valley-based liberals, are heralding libertarian Musk’s deal.

“I am hopeful that Elon Musk will help rein in Big Tech’s history of censoring users that have a different viewpoint,” tweeted Republican senator Marsha Blackburn.

Derrick Johnson, CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said that while “free speech is wonderful, hate speech is unacceptable.”

“Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech, or falsehoods that subvert our democracy. Protecting our democracy is of utmost importance, especially as the midterm elections approach,” he said.

– Moderation –

In Brussels, the International Federation of Journalists echoed that call, expressed concern that the billionaire would damage media freedoms “by exacerbating opportunities to attack journalists” on the site.

IFJ general secretary Anthony Bellanger said Twitter, which has 400 million users, “must be duly moderated, while respecting freedom of speech.”

Experts say that once at the helm, Musk may find that staying true to his free speech instincts isn’t so simple.

In the European Union for example, Twitter will have to comply with the new Digital Services Act, a major piece of EU legislation ensuring tougher consequences when platforms host banned content.

“He’s going to have to have some form of content moderation policy. That’s going to be challenging for Musk,” New York University politics and media expert Joshua Tucker told AFP.

The entrepreneur will also be wary about making too many changes that contribute to users flocking away from the site, analysts say.

“If it becomes a place of hateful content and it chases away journalists, then it loses its value,” Karen North, professor of digital social media at the Annenberg journalism school in California told AFP.

Musk has not specified exactly what restrictions he intends to roll back. But he hinted in a tweet Tuesday that change was coming.

“The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all,” he wrote.


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Walmart says it has stopped advertising on Elon Musk’s X platform

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Walmart says it has stopped advertising on Elon Musk's X platform

Walmart said Friday that it is scaling back its advertising on X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter, because “we’ve found some other platforms better for reaching our customers.”

Walmart’s decision has been in the works for a while, according to a person familiar with the move. Yet it comes as X faces an advertiser exodus following billionaire owner Elon Musk’s support for an antisemitic post on the platform. 

The retailer spends about $2.7 billion on advertising each year, according to MarketingDive. In an email to CBS MoneyWatch, X’s head of operations, Joe Benarroch, said Walmart still has a large presence on X. He added that the company stopped advertising on X in October, “so this is not a recent pausing.”

“Walmart has a wonderful community of more than a million people on X, and with a half a billion people on X, every year the platform experiences 15 billion impressions about the holidays alone with more than 50% of X users doing most or all of their shopping online,” Benarroch said.

Musk struck a defiant pose earlier this week at the New York Times’ Dealbook Summit, where he cursed out advertisers that had distanced themselves from X, telling them to “go f— yourself.” He also complained that companies are trying to “blackmail me with advertising” by cutting off their spending with the platform, and cautioned that the loss of big advertisers could “kill” X.

“And the whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company,” Musk added.


Elon Musk faces backlash from lawmakers, companies over endorsement of antisemitic X post

02:23

Dozens of advertisers — including players such as Apple, Coca Cola and Disney — have bailed on X since Musk tweeted that a post on the platform that claimed Jews fomented hatred against White people, echoing antisemitic stereotypes, was “the actual truth.”

Advertisers generally shy away from placing their brands and marketing messages next to controversial material, for fear that their image with consumers could get tarnished by incendiary content. 

The loss of major advertisers could deprive X of up to $75 million in revenue, according to a New York Times report

Musk said Wednesday his support of the antisemitic post was “one of the most foolish” he’d ever posted on X. 

“I am quite sorry,” he said, adding “I should in retrospect not have replied to that particular post.”

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US Judge Blocks Montana’s Effort to Ban TikTok

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U.S. Judge Blocks Montana’s Effort to Ban TikTok in the State

TikTok has won another reprieve in the U.S., with a district judge blocking Montana’s effort to ban the app for all users in the state.

Back in May, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed legislation to ban TikTok outright from operating in the state, in order to protect residents from alleged intelligence gathering by China. There’s no definitive evidence that TikTok is, or has participated in such, but Gianforte opted to move to a full ban, going further than the government device bans issued in other regions.

As explained by Gianforte at the time:

The Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private, and sensitive information is well-documented. Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party.”

In response, a collection of TikTok users challenged the proposed ban, arguing that it violated their first amendment rights, which led to this latest court challenge, and District Court Judge Donald Molloy’s decision to stop Montana’s ban effort.

Montana’s TikTok ban had been set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

In issuing a preliminary injunction to stop Montana from imposing a full ban on the app, Molloy said that Montana’s legislation does indeed violate the Constitution and “oversteps state power.”

Molloy’s judgment is primarily centered on the fact that Montana has essentially sought to exercise foreign policy authority in enacting a TikTok ban, which is only enforceable by federal authorities. Molloy also noted that there was apervasive undertone of anti-Chinese sentiment” within Montana’s proposed legislation.

TikTok has welcomed the ruling, issuing a brief statement in response:

Montana attorney general, meanwhile, has said that it’s considering next steps to advance its proposed TikTok ban.

The news is a win for TikTok, though the Biden Administration is still weighing a full TikTok ban in the U.S., which may still happen, even though the process has been delayed by legal and legislative challenges.

As I’ve noted previously, my sense here would be that TikTok won’t be banned in the U.S. unless there’s a significant shift in U.S.-China relations, and that relationship is always somewhat tense, and volatile to a degree.

If the U.S. government has new reason to be concerned, it may well move to ban the app. But doing so would be a significant step, and would prompt further response from the C.C.P.

Which is why I suspect that the U.S. government won’t act, unless it feels that it has to. And right now, there’s no clear impetus to implement a ban, and stop a Chinese-owned company from operating in the region, purely because of its origin.

Which is the real crux of the issue here. A TikTok ban is not just banning a social media company, it’s blocking cross-border commerce, because the company is owned by China, which will remain the logic unless clear evidence arises that TikTok has been used as a vector for gathering information on U.S. citizens.

Banning a Chinese-owned app because it is Chinese-owned is a statement, beyond concerns about a social app, and the U.S. is right to tread carefully in considering how such a move might impact other industries.

So right now, TikTok is not going to be banned, in Montana, or anywhere else in the U.S. But that could still change, very quickly.



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EU wants to know how Meta tackles child sex abuse

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The investigation is the first step in procedures launched under the EU's new online content law known as the Digital Services Act

The investigation is the first step in procedures launched under the EU’s new online content law known as the Digital Services Act – Copyright AFP Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

The EU on Friday demanded Instagram-owner Meta provide more information about measures taken by the company to address child sexual abuse online.

The request for information focuses on Meta’s risk assessment and mitigation measures “linked to the protection of minors, including regarding the circulation of self-generated child sexual abuse material (SG-CSAM) on Instagram”, the European Commission said.

Meta must also give information about “Instagram’s recommender system and amplification of potentially harmful content”, it added.

The investigation is the first step in procedures launched under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), but does not itself constitute an indication of legal violations or a move towards punishment.

Meta must respond by December 22.

A report by Stanford University and the Wall Street Journal in June this year said Instagram is the main platform used by paedophile networks to promote and sell content showing child sexual abuse.

Meta at the time said it worked “aggressively” to fight child exploitation.

The commission has already started a series of investigations against large digital platforms seeking information about how they are complying with the DSA.

It has sought more information from Meta in October about the spread of disinformation as well as a request for information last month about how the company protects children online.

The DSA is part of the European Union’s powerful regulatory armoury to bring big tech to heel, and requires digital giants take more aggressive action to counter the spread of illegal and harmful content as well as disinformation.

Platforms face fines that can go up to six percent of global turnover for violations.

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