>>> ELON MUSK SAYS HE WILL BEGIN RESTORING PREVIOUSLY BANNED TWITTER ACCOUNTS. IT COMES AFTER ELON MUSK CONDUCTED HIS OWN POLL OF TWITTER USERS. NOW HE'S GOING TO DO WHAT HE'S SAYING NOW. HE SAYS THE ACCOUNTS WILL ONLY BE RESTORED IF THEY HAVE NOT BROKEN THE LAW OR ENGAGED IN EGREGIOUS SPAM BUT IT'S UNCLEAR WHAT THE PARAMETERS FOR DETERMINING THAT WOULD BE. SO THE CONSEQUENCES HERE COULD BE GREAT FOR THE EMBATTLED COMPANY. A CLINICAL INSTRUCTOR AT HARVARD LAW SAID WHAT MUSK IS DOING IS DANGEROUS FOR VARIOUS MAR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
IT'S LIKE OPENING THE GATES OF HELL. WE HAVE KATHERINE RAMPELL AND SCOTT JENNINGS WITH US NOW. HELLO TO BOTH OF YOU. SOME PEOPLE MAY SAY THIS SOUNDS LIKE HYPERBOLE. BUT TWITTER IS POWERFUL WHEN IT COMES TO MESSAGING AND INFLUENCE, AND IT DOES HAVE CONSEQUENCES. >> YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK REASONABLE PEOPLE CAN DISAGREE ABOUT WHAT A CONTENT MODERATION POLICY SHOULD LOOK LIKE. ONE PERSON'S FAKE NEWS IS ANOTHER PERSON'S FREE SPEECH. I'M NOT SURE THAT PRE-MUSK TWITTER NECESSARILY GOT THE BALANCE EXACTLY RIGHT. THE PROBLEM IS, THAT ELON MUSK NOW IS ENCOURAGING HIS USERS TO CROSS THE LINE, ESSENTIALLY. TO BECOME MORE HOSTILE. AND POTENTIALLY HARASS PEOPLE MORE.
SO LONG AS IT DOESN'T BREAK THE LAW. AND BY ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO CROSS THE LINE WHEREVER IT IS, THIS PLATFORM IS NECESSARILY GOING TO BECOME A MORE HOSTILE PLACE TO HANG OUT. I'M NOT SURE THAT'S GREAT FOR MARGINALIZED GROUPS AND HIGH PROFILE INDIVIDUALS WHO MIGHT GET HARASSED, ET CETERA. AND I'M NOT SURE IT'S GREAT FOR THE BOTTOM LINE OF TWITTER. >> ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE BRANDS THAT ARE JUST SORT OF LEAVING TWITTER AT THIS POINT? >> YEAH. YEAH. ABOUT A THIRD OF TWITTER'S TOP 100 ADVERTISERS HAVE NOW LEFT. OR AT LEAST SUSPENDED THEIR ADVERTISING OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS. THAT'S NOT BECAUSE THEY'RE WOKE COMPANIES OR WHATEVER, IT'S BECAUSE THERE ARE LEGITIMATE CONCERNS ABOUT BRAND SAFETY. THEY DON'T WANT THEIR LOGO POSTED NEXT TO A NEO-NAZI TWEET OR A SERIAL HARASSER OR WOULD BE TERRORIST.
IT'S DANGEROUS FOR THEM FOR THEIR BRAND IMAGE. I THINK WHEN ELON MUSK TALKS TO HOW HE WANTS TO DECREASE HOW MUCH THE WEBSITE POLICES CONTENT, POLICES USERS WHILE INCREASING ADVERTISING REVENUES, THOSE OBJECTIVES ARE FUNDAMENTALLY SOMEWHAT AT ODDS BECAUSE WHEN YOU, YOU KNOW, OPEN THE GATES OF HELL OR WHATEVER THE ANALOGY WAS, YEAH YOU'RE GOING TO MAYBE DRIVE SOME MORE L LOOKIE LOUS BUT YOU'RE GOING TO DRIVE AWAY ADVERTISERS. >> THE THING THAT STANDS OUT IS HOW ELON MUSK IS MAKING THESE DECISIONS BY POLLS ON TWITTER. YOU CAN'T TELL WHO'S VOTING ON THE POLLS.
