How Elon Musk backed Twitter into a corner

Musk's decisions about how Twitter handles disinformation and hate speech in the name of free speech stand to have a major impact on the company's business as well as potentially how governments regulate speech on social media. — AFP

LOS ANGELES: Twitter is now in Elon Musk's hands. What his successful manoeuvre to buy the company means for its 200 million-plus users – or for media and entertainment companies that use the platform to reach global audiences – is anything but clear.

In the space of three weeks, Musk went from disclosing a 9.2% stake in Twitter to clinching a US$44bil deal for the company on April 25. The tech billionaire has promoted the idea that he wants to protect "free speech" on Twitter, which he calls "the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated”. Analysts expect the deal to get shareholder approval and face no regulatory hurdles. When it closes, which is projected to be sometime in 2022, Twitter will become a privately held company.