A Facebook whistleblower told Fox Business she was “cautiously optimistic” about Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter.
Elizabeth Haugen said privatizing Twitter could allow Musk to focus on security changes.
She pitted Musk against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, saying Musk was better off receiving feedback.
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Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who leaked a trove of Facebook documents late last year, told Fox Business she was “cautiously optimistic” about Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter.
Haugen testified before the US Congress in October last year saying that Facebook, which has since changed its name to Meta, has always prioritized profit and engagement over user safety.
Musk’s plans to privatize Twitter could give him the ability to change the company’s business model in a way that prioritizes user safety without pressure to generate shareholder profits, Haugen told Fox Business. .
“I think there’s a huge opportunity here for Elon to really demonstrate that there’s another way forward,” she told the outlet.
Haugen pitted Musk against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, saying she believed Musk was better able to take actionable feedback and make meaningful change.
Haugen told Fox Business that Zuckerberg “surrounded himself with people who told him what he wanted to hear.”
The musk has mentioned he wants to put more emphasis on “free speech” on Twitter, which means he could relax the company’s rules on what content stays on the platform. Experts told Insider this could lead to an increase in hate speech and misinformation on the platform.
In his interview with Fox Business, Haugen also said that the “first thing” Musk can do to improve Twitter is to “establish real transparency.”
Musk said he wanted to open up Twitter’s algorithm, which would make it more transparent to people outside the company, but making Twitter private will also mean its business will be less open to public scrutiny.
It’s not yet clear what exact changes Musk will make to Twitter, as his deal to buy the company for $44 billion has yet to pass shareholder and regulatory approval. The deal is expected to close in October this year.
Before making his offer to buy Twitter, Musk floated the idea of removing ads for subscribers to the company’s premium service Twitter Blue in a tweet. The tweet has since been deleted.
