Elon Musk’s official takeover of Twitter was greeted with mixed opinions, including those who celebrated looser restrictions on the social media site. The tech billionaire hopes to fulfill his previously stated wishes of restoring free speech on the platform.
However, free speech on social media is often a way for users to freely spread misinformation, disinformation and hate speech to be posted online without consequences.
In the hours following the news of Musk’s takeover, a rise of hate speech took over the platform. The Network Contagion Research Institute, a research group that examines social media to detect emerging threats, reported that use of the N-word had gone up 500 per cent in the 12 hours following the news of Musk’s official takeover.
While the platform can boast free speech, for its users, Canada itself does not officially have absolutely free of consequence speech. In lieu of Freedom of Speech, Canada instead has Freedom of Expression in the charter. With this specification, hate speech laws take effect.
Spreading hate speech on social media can violate Sec. 319 of the Criminal Code of Canada by inciting and promoting hatred.
Twitter, which was recently purchased last month by tech billionaire Elon Musk has now become a safe haven for those who claim "Free Speech" has returned to Twitter. Photo credit: Brett Jordan /Unsplash
Brett Caraway, an associate professor at the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information, and Technology at the University of Toronto, envisions free speech on the new Twitter may be a concern for Canadians.
“In Canada, there are prohibitions on hate speech,” he said.
“While the Charter gives us freedom of thought, expression [and] opinion, [it] doesn’t actually say freedom of speech is a delimited right, meaning it’s subject to reasonable regulation or intervention by the government,” Caraway said.
But unmonitored social media not only negatively affects users but the platform itself.
Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, took to Twitter to urge advertisers to pull their ads from the social media platform after a surge of hate speech targeting the African American community spread like wildfire when Musk’s takeover went into effect.
“It is immoral, dangerous, and highly destructive to our democracy for any advertiser to fund a platform that fuels hate speech, election denialism and conspiracy theories. Until actions are taken to make this a safe space, we call on companies to pause all advertising on Twitter,” Johnson tweeted.
It is immoral, dangerous, and highly destructive to our democracy for any advertiser to fund a platform that fuels hate speech, election denialism and conspiracy theories. Until actions are taken to make this a safe space, we call on companies to pause all advertising on Twitter.
— Derrick Johnson (@DerrickNAACP) November 4, 2022
Hours before his official acquisition of Twitter, Musk had written an open letter to advertisers, ensuring the platform won’t become a “Free for all hellscape.” Despite these assurances, client General Motors has said it will be temporarily pausing advertisements on the platform due to the new ownership.
With advertising making up 90 per cent of Twitter’s revenue, it’s not something the platform can afford to lose.
Whether this move was a vanity project for Musk or an attempt to push his brand of town square free speech, only time will tell — what is guaranteed is that it’s become a hostile place for many marginalized groups.