Elon Musk has been slammed for his decision to allow previously banned accounts to return to Twitter, which one expert says amounts to “opening the gates of hell to some of the worst people on the internet”. Social media commentator Matt Navarra said the move would allow banned users to “come back from their Twitter jail cell” to “harass, abuse and disrupt” others on the site.
Musk’s announcement came after he shared a poll asking Twitter users to vote on reinstatements for accounts that have not “broken the law or engaged in egregious spam” – the yes vote was 72 percent. “The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” he tweeted using a Latin phrase meaning “the voice of the people, the voice of God”.
Last week, the billionaire restored Donald Trump’s account after a similar poll – although the former US president has not yet tweeted – and also recently allowed Kanye West to return after he was suspended for antisemitic comments. The new amnesty – which Musk said will begin next week – could see a number of far-right and controversial figures allowed back on the platform, including Katie Hopkins and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon.
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He is yet to offer any further details on how Twitter would decide which banned accounts would be considered for a return. Navarra also warned there appeared to be no new technology or policies in place to help Twitter manage the return of figures who had previously used the site to spread abuse, hate, and division.
Speaking to the PA news agency, he said: “It’s very hard to see any benefit or logical reason why this decision has been made. There doesn’t seem to be any new technology or policies in place to counteract the risk that bringing these people back on the platform will bring.
Should Twitter offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
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“Twitter already doesn’t have the greatest track record in content moderation and managing this sort of abusive, harassing behaviour – and that’s with these people locked down – so for them to come back, I struggle to see how it could be anything but bad news.”
The Tesla CEO has repeatedly spoken of his belief in allowing more free speech on the platform and in reversing permanent bans from Twitter, despite warnings from online safety groups that it would spark a rise in abuse and harm on the site. Researchers have already reported sharp rises in abusive content appearing on Twitter since Musk completed his takeover in October.
Navarra said he understood Musk’s proposed amnesty “from a free speech point of view” in allowing previously banned users to “at least have a baseline presence” on the site and moderating their reach as needed but predicted a number of issues would arise from the decision. He said: “I think that makes sense but there still doesn’t seem to be the technology in place to handle it and he certainly doesn’t have the staffing levels required to handle the potential meteoric rise in abuse that we’re likely to see from such a decision.
“I think it’s bad news for most people on the platform – even those who have never experienced harassment and abuse before. There’s nothing positive that can come of this.”
He said the decision could be “another nail in the coffin” for Twitter’s advertising business, with some advertisers having already paused work with the platform over concerns about Musk’s new approach to content and moderation.
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