Musk Takes over Twitter, What's Next?
2022-10-29
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Elon Musk has taken ownership of Twitter. Musk immediately removed the company's top leaders.
2But no one knows exactly what the billionaire businessman will do with the social media service.
3"The bird is freed," Musk wrote on Twitter after he completed his $44 billion takeover of the company on Thursday.
4He was making note of Twitter's logo, which is a small blue bird.
5The closing of the deal ended months of uncertainty surrounding the influential service.
6In April, Musk offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion.
7Musk said at the time that his goal was to shape the service into a place for free speech.
8Three months later, he withdrew his offer saying Twitter did not provide him with enough information about the number of false, or fake, accounts.
9Twitter then opened a legal action, or lawsuit, to force Musk to complete the deal.
10A judge in the state of Delaware ordered Musk and Twitter to complete the deal by Friday.
11Musk has left Twitter employees, investors and the public wondering what he will do with the service.
12On Thursday night, Musk wrote an extended comment about the deal.
13Musk wrote: "The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence."
14Musk, the world's richest man, said he did not buy Twitter to make more money.
15He said that Twitter "cannot become a free-for-all hellscape."
16He also said it would become "the most respected advertising platform in the world."
17Yet Musk has not offered details on how he will reach his goals for the company.
18He also has not said who will run the company.
19Pinar Yildirim teaches marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's business school.
20She said Musk's latest comment is a change from his earlier position that Twitter unfairly restricted free speech.
21She noted that it is an understanding that having no content moderation is bad for business.
22It also puts Twitter at risk of losing advertisers and users.
23Yildirim told the Associated Press, "You do not want a place where consumers just simply are bombarded with things they do not want to hear about, and the platform takes no responsibility."
24In May, Musk said he would end Twitter's ban on the account of former president Donald Trump.
25The account was removed after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
26Trump said at the time that he would not return to the service and has since launched his own social media service, Truth Social.
27As concerns rise about the direction of Twitter's content moderation, European Union Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted to Musk on Friday that "In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules."
28Under EU rules, technology companies like Twitter could face severe financial penalties if they do not control illegal or harmful content, including hate speech and disinformation.
29Twitter is struggling to reach users as compared to other social media services.
30Major Twitter users make up 10 percent of the service, but they create 90 percent of all tweets.
31I'm Dorothy Gundy.
1Elon Musk has taken ownership of Twitter. Musk immediately removed the company's top leaders. But no one knows exactly what the billionaire businessman will do with the social media service. 2"The bird is freed," Musk wrote on Twitter after he completed his $44 billion takeover of the company on Thursday. He was making note of Twitter's logo, which is a small blue bird. 3The closing of the deal ended months of uncertainty surrounding the influential service. 4In April, Musk offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion. Musk said at the time that his goal was to shape the service into a place for free speech. Three months later, he withdrew his offer saying Twitter did not provide him with enough information about the number of false, or fake, accounts. 5Twitter then opened a legal action, or lawsuit, to force Musk to complete the deal. A judge in the state of Delaware ordered Musk and Twitter to complete the deal by Friday. 6What's next for Twitter? 7Musk has left Twitter employees, investors and the public wondering what he will do with the service. On Thursday night, Musk wrote an extended comment about the deal. 8Musk wrote: "The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence." 9Musk, the world's richest man, said he did not buy Twitter to make more money. He said that Twitter "cannot become a free-for-all hellscape." He also said it would become "the most respected advertising platform in the world." 10Yet Musk has not offered details on how he will reach his goals for the company. He also has not said who will run the company. 11Pinar Yildirim teaches marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's business school. She said Musk's latest comment is a change from his earlier position that Twitter unfairly restricted free speech. She noted that it is an understanding that having no content moderation is bad for business. It also puts Twitter at risk of losing advertisers and users. 12Yildirim told the Associated Press, "You do not want a place where consumers just simply are bombarded with things they do not want to hear about, and the platform takes no responsibility." 13In May, Musk said he would end Twitter's ban on the account of former president Donald Trump. The account was removed after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump said at the time that he would not return to the service and has since launched his own social media service, Truth Social. 14As concerns rise about the direction of Twitter's content moderation, European Union Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted to Musk on Friday that "In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules." 15Under EU rules, technology companies like Twitter could face severe financial penalties if they do not control illegal or harmful content, including hate speech and disinformation. 16Twitter is struggling to reach users as compared to other social media services. Major Twitter users make up 10 percent of the service, but they create 90 percent of all tweets. 17I'm Dorothy Gundy. 18Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English with reporting from Reuters and The Associated Press. 19_______________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21logo - n. a symbol that is used to identify a company 22uncertainty - n. something that is doubtful or unknown 23acquire - v. to come to own something 24civilization - n. a relatively high level of cultural and technological development 25digital - adj. characterized by electronic and computerized technology 26range - n. a series of things in a line 27manner - n. a way of acting or proceeding 28moderation - n. process to limit extreme behaviors or expression 29resort - v. to do something because no other choices are possible 30platform - n. a place to tell large number of people about an idea or product 31consumer - n. people who buy goods or services 32bombard - v. to constantly or repeatedly send something 33penalty - n. punishment for a crime or offense