(John McCann, Headline USA) In the wake of Elon Musk‘s seismic $44 billion buyout of Twitter, the South African billionaire has promised a new policy of openness and transparency at the company. These promises include making Twitter’s algorithm open to public scrutiny.
Up until now, Twitter’s algorithm for how they manage tweets has not been been made known to the public. This algorithm has long been criticized for its many instances of limiting the visibility of accounts who’s tweets and opinions are deemed undesirable by the Twitter hierarchy. Musk vows to change this system in order to foster freedom of speech on the platform.
However, not everyone at the newly-privatized tech company is thrilled about Musk’s takeover and his plans for the future. After the bid was accepted by Twitter’s board, they took the unusual step of locking down the source code, reported the Western Journal.
This was done to make sure no disgruntled Twitter employees could go “rogue,” and make any unauthorized changes to the code that could hamper Musk’s reforms. Any changes to Twitter’s code now require approval from a vice president, according to Bloomberg.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal sought to ease the concerns of the disgruntled employees. He stated that Musk, “wants Twitter to be a powerful, positive force in the world, just like all of us,” reported the New York Times,
Employees were also assured that no layoffs would occur within the first six months of the new ownership. But many employees still seem to be angered by the change in management and the sweeping changes that seem to be surely on the way.
Musk has previously discussed the concept that Twitter should open-source its algorithm, noted Fortune, which would mean that the code used to determine how Twitter handles posts would open to the public.
So many people have no idea why an entire political ideology has an issue with @elonmusk taking over @Twitter. Just wait until Musk releases the source code – you have no idea how much you’ve been manipulated by sources you’ve believed had your best interests at heart.
— Chris Gachko 🇺🇸 (@CGachko) April 25, 2022
Many figures on the political right have lauded Musk’s Twitter takeover as a victory for free speech, and a much needed development for positive social discourse. Many on the left have decried the buyout as an example of corporate greed and that Twitter will become a cesspit for perceived hate speech due to Musk’s changes.
Whatever the case, Musk’s takeover could have huge implications for public discourse, as the 2022 midterms are fast approaching. And looking onward to 2024, a certain former president may seek to reclaim his lost platform as the race for the White House heats up.
🚀💫♥️ Yesss!!! ♥️💫🚀 pic.twitter.com/0T9HzUHuh6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022
