Elon's Twitter bringing an inflection point for Google and Apple
https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/@lauren/109395201928299996
Both #Google and #Apple will soon be facing an uncomfortable and
crucial inflection point, brought about by Elon's #Twitter.
The terms of service for both firms' mobile app stores prohibit hate
speech and a variety of other kinds of toxic speech that are rapidly
becoming the norm on Twitter under Musk, and that (judging from his
continuing statements) could soon become the majority of posts on the
platform.
While it is arguable how well both Apple and Google have handled apps
up to now that catered to the far right end of the political spectrum
from day one, Twitter is a different case, since it has had (at least
up to now) a much broader spectrum of users who by and large are not
as tolerant of the kinds of speech on which most users of those other
platforms thrive. The same can be said of most advertisers, many of
whom have already paused their Twitter ad buys out of concerns
regarding Musk's behavior and actions. Yet another factor is EU
regulations that specifically prohibit much of the kinds of speech
that Musk is now gleefully inviting back onto the platform.
The situation is complicated by many firms and municipalities using
Twitter for important announcements, but as Twitter skews toward
catering to fascism these entities would be wise to plan for other
communications channels as soon as possible.
More imminently, it is likely that both Google and Apple, along with
various of Twitter's infrastructure providers (some of whom,
reportedly, haven't been paid for bills that preceded Elon's
coronation), will be under pressure to reassess their participation in
an increasingly toxic Twitter ecosystem. In the cases of Apple and
Google, the calls for them to enforce their Terms of Service as
written can only be ignored at the firms' own peril over time.
This will be an ethical test on a grand scale. We will all be
watching. -L
- - -
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
[email protected] (https://www.vortex.com/lauren)
Lauren's Blog: https://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Mastodon: https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/@lauren
Founder: Network Neutrality Squad: https://www.nnsquad.org
PRIVACY Forum: https://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
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