Twitter is more than just a medium. Twitter is a power tool with many millions of users. And Elon Musk has more influence than a normal person. He is a billionaire power man who claims to have a political agenda. An agenda that should lead to a better social situation, but also unspecified.
“I bought Twitter because having a common digital forum is important for the future of our civilization,” Musk wrote this week in an open letter to Twitter advertisers. The service should become a place where “a wide range of opinions can be discussed in a healthy way without escalating into violence”.
A noble intention. Because if it really works, Twitter can help solve one of the most pressing problems of our time with social and political divisions in society.
But Elon Musk also creates a big problem. For many, he has raised an expectation: Everyone should be able to say anything on Twitter. He sounds good, like free beer for democracy.
He will not be able to keep this promise. Because the vision that the entrepreneur is trying to achieve is, to some extent, inhumane. He ignores the realities that his utopia cannot resist.
Whether it’s the United States of America, the European Union, Germany, India, Russia or China, every country on earth makes laws. The days of the Internet as a “lawless space” – which never existed in this form – are long gone. Regardless of whether it is a democracy or a dictatorship, governments set rules. Businesses and their owners must respect them.
Freedom of speech without observance of the laws will not occur. In a country like China, this could be the censorship of political content that doesn’t fit the regime. This could be a public call for suicide or violence in the US or the EU because it is a crime.
“The comedy is now legal on Twitter,” Musk shared via his Twitter account shortly after the purchase. This also sounds good.
But what if “Go kill yourself” is supposed to be just for fun, but someone actually takes their own life? When Musk’s Twitter purchase was sealed, the number of anti-Semitic tweets is said to have increased rapidly. All without fun. How should it be prosecuted without government access to user data?
It doesn’t matter who doesn’t like the rules for whatever reason. Elon Musk must also implement at least terms of use that correspond to the laws in force in the respective countries. Ultimately, the courts decide how these are to be interpreted.
