Twitter is a rather different platform allowing ordinary people to directly challenge those in power, mobilising protests and amplifying defiance. At the same time, it has struggled with hateful speech for over a decade, often targeting women and people of colour. Now, with Musk’s takeover, the future of the moderation systems the company has painstakingly engineered for decades is uncertain, leaving many to wonder what the platform will look like and who could suffer the most.
Cyber-bullying is more and more common as internet users are shielded by anonymity on the web. It is especially present on Twitter where users face many forms of harassment including death threats, threats of sexual abuse, stalking, and so on. Unsurprisingly, the victims of these behaviours are predominantly women.
Researchers have observed that fake accounts magnify disinformation, financial frauds and communication disruptions and that Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has raised concerns that the platform could decrease its content moderation which could cause an exponential increase in cyber-bullying.
Musk took to Twitter to make clarifications regarding free speech. “By free speech, I simply mean that which matches the law,” he tweeted. “I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law. If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.”
Given that Mr. Musk says he prefers temporary “timeouts” to permanent bans on Twitter, people have wondered if Donald Trump would be allowed back on his favourite “bully pulpit”. The former president of the US was banned from Twitter due to the risk of further incitement of violence following the January 6 riot at the Capitol.
Will Twitter’s new management deliver as promised when changes are implemented? We are yet to find out.
I think cyberbullying will increased exponentially. The bullies have a maverick backing them