Free Speech Absolutist Takes Over Twitter

I see trouble ahead.Elon Musk – a sort ofbrilliant, geeky, man-child –is now the boss of Twitter.Thus, he puts himself in thecrosshairs of all sorts of powerfulinterest groups and bad actors.He is effectively entering politics.Few businesspeople make thattransition well because it requiresa different mentality and mindset.

Musk is, however, a brilliantbusinessman. Tesla nearly wentbust; yet through tremendousenergy and focus, it is now themost valuable car company inthe world. The stellar successof this kind could turn anyone’shead. Musk certainly seemspumped up with confidence totake on any challenge. He haseven come up with solutions forthe war in Ukraine and how toreduce tensions about Taiwan.It all sounds like something thata very bright but overconfidentstudent might come up with.

Twitter is a very differentchallenge from Tesla. It hasresponsibilities and requiresthe talents of an intellectuallawyer to navigate questionsthat are always nuanced. Beingan absolutist about anythinglacks humility in the face of acomplex world and especiallywhen it comes to ‘freedom’.Absolute freedom is not adefendable position. Freedom,as Karl Popper explained, is“paradoxical.”

Here is an illustration ofPopper’s ‘paradox of freedom’.Suppose you want to put a wallaround your house. You shouldhave the freedom to do this,shouldn’t you? After all, everywoman is the queen of hercastle. Maybe that is fine if youare the queen, you own all theland around the castle and thereare no other dwellings nearby.But most of us less exaltedsouls do not live that way. Welive cheek-by-jowl with others. IfI put up a wall, there is a goodchance that it will block the lightand access of my neighbours.My freedom is somebodyelse’s un-freedom. It is why wehave planning laws becauseotherwise, people with powerand money would oppress thosewith less.

Freedom of speech is aneven trickier area than planningregulations. As a publisher, youcan be held accountable. (Theclaim that social media are onlyplatforms, not publishers, andtherefore not liable, will not standespecially in Europe). SupposeMusk had been in charge whenAlex Jones was spreading hiscruel conspiracy theories aboutthe Sandy Hook massacre inwhich children and teacherslost their lives to a derangedgunman. Jones said it was alla hoax, staged by actors. Thebereaved parents were harassedby trolls and their lives weremade miserable. At the time,Jones was banned by Twitter.But under the leadership of afree-speech absolutist, he couldwell have tweeted his derangedfantasies. Jones now faces afine of $965 million – enough tobankrupt most publishers.

At the time of writing, DonaldTrump has been let back onTwitter. In America’s fractiouspolitics there is no hotter potato,although there are plenty ofothers that can pop up at anytime – from trans rights to raceto abortion. Without moderation(and all digital platforms nowemploy large numbers ofmoderators), the issues that roilAmerican politics can quicklydescend into a cesspit ofmisinformation and abuse, withTwitter at the centre of it. Indeed,seconds after Musk’s takeoverwas announced, an emboldenedcast of anonymous trolls spewedracist slurs and Nazi memes.

Musk’s libertarian beliefs area particular product of Americanculture. Millions emigrated tothe US to escape oppressionand persecution so that theycould practise their religionand live unmolested by thestate. Robust individualism is inAmerica’s DNA and manifestedin many ways, from cowboyfilms to gun ownership to hatredof “Washington.” So, Musk isplaying to an American audience.But his message does nottravel well. His first tweet, afterhis takeover, was “the bird isfree.” He received an immediateresponse from Thierry Breton,an EU panjandrum, which said– “the bird will fly by EU rules.”No matter how much he mightrail against it, the bureaucrats inEurope tend to win in the end.

Investors in Tesla are dismayedby Musk’s purchase of Twitter.Optimists think that he willrealise quickly that he cannotrule from high on complex issuesof free speech. It would alsotake away his energy from hismain business. So, he will tweakthe rules a bit and leave it tothe moderators. Also, tougherregulations may be his friend,especially in Europe, as it will takethe issue out of his hands and intothose of regulators and lawyers.

But the optimists werewrong about Trump. In 2016,remember, many thoughthe would get serious and“presidential” when in power.Wishful thinking. Trump may runagain and even provoke moreviolence if he does not win. Hemay take to Twitter to whip uphis MAGA base. Then what doesMusk do? He is going to upset avery large number of Americanshowever he rules. Tesla couldbecome a hated brand for eitherMAGA republicans or democrats.No wonder investors are anxious.And this is a scenario that iseasy to imagine. There are plentyof “unknown unknowns” (in thelate Donald Rumsfeld’s phrase)that lie in wait.

Let’s widen the focus fromthe US and Europe. Teslasells worldwide and 40% ofautomotive sales are in China.As relations between the US andChina become more fractious,life becomes more difficult forCEOs. You can withdraw fromRussia over the war in Ukrainewithout too much pain as it isless than two percent of theworld economy, with not muchproduction. However, withdrawalfrom China would hurt yourbusiness so you have to be“diplomatic’ about it; for example,the treatment of the Uighursas the CCP is both touchy andvengeful. These issues aredifficult enough for any CEOwithout the added complicationof owning something as noisyand uncontrollable as Twitter.

What about fixing Twitter as abusiness? Plenty of smart folkshave wrestled with this problemand failed to dramatically growrevenue. Musk could wastehis energies on it. He will cutcosts but that hardly adds up to“business transformation.” Whatabout becoming “an everythingapp” like WeChat? Well, if alifestyle app like Facebook hasnot seized this opportunity itseems unlikely that Twitter can,as its “users” use it less and forfewer things.

You don’t have to be amanagement consultant to spotthat Twitter is not “strategicallyTesla’s core business.”

My guess is that Elon Musk willlive to regret buying Twitter andsell it at a loss. It may be that allhe craves is being the centre ofattention, in which case owningTwitter will surely deliver thatdaily ego satisfaction. And he willcontinue to give journalists plentyto write about – a silver lining forfolk like me, but not the investorsin Tesla.

But, of course, this article,written on 30/10/22, couldalready be out of date, such isthe pace of modern media, whichcan make fools of people whowrite opinion pieces.

Julian Saunders was CEO, Red Celladvertising (a WPP company). Hewas also Planning Director, Ogilvy,Executive Planning Director,McCann-Erickson and atThe Zoo at Google.julians@joinedupcompany.com