Twitter logo and a photo of Elon Musk are displayed through a magnifier in this illustration taken October 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationElon Musk, the newly appointed CEO of Twitter, intends to reinstate almost all of the previously suspended accounts on the service. As early as next week, this “amnesty” is expected to begin.
A Twitter poll in which Musk questioned whether or not the social network should reinstate suspended accounts led to the story. A survey revealed:
Should Twitter grant all suspended accounts a general amnesty if they haven’t violated the law or sent outrageous amounts of spam?
More than 3 million people participated in the survey, and 72.4% supported the reform. Then Musk said, “Amnesty starts next week.” A request for a response from the Twitter CEO has not yet been answered.
According to experts, restoring banned accounts for violations including making violent threats, harassing people, and spreading false information will greatly influence Twitter. Many others also questioned Musk’s strategy, particularly in light of the fact that he did not define the phrase “egregious spam”. Not to mention how difficult it is to discern between those who have “violated the law” and those who have been blacklisted.
Even the clinical instructor at Harvard Law’s cyberlaw clinic, Alejandra Caraballo, referred to it as “opening the gates of hell.”
For many disadvantaged areas, what Musk is doing poses an existential threat. In terms of the mayhem, it will wreak, it’s comparable to unlocking the gates of hell. Directly targeted harassment offenders may retaliate by engaging in doxing, targeted harassment, cruel bullying, demands for violence, and celebrations of violence. The level of risk here is beyond description.
We won’t know the outcome of Twitter’s dilemma until the following week.