Hodson on Elon Musk’s proposed Twitter takeover
In The Conversation Canada, Canada Research Chair in Digital Communication for the Public Interest Assoc. Prof. Jaigris Hodson wrote about what could happen if Elon Musk successfully takes over Twitter and overhauls company moderation policies.
Here is an excerpt:
“While making Twitter free for all ‘within the bounds of the law’ seems like a way to ensure free speech in theory, in practice, this action would actually serve to suppress the speech of Twitter’s most vulnerable users.
“My team’s research into online harassment shows that when platforms fail to moderate effectively, the most marginalized people may withdraw from posting to social media as a way to keep themselves safe.”