Mark Cuban is closely following Elon Musk's Twitter revamp.
The Dallas Mavericks owner is among those who are convinced that Musk will undoubtedly succeed in making Twitter an influential and profitable social network.
But he does not hide his concerns about the content policy on the platform, in line with the advertisers who worry that the platform will become a "hellscape", because everything will be accepted in the name of free speech.
"The greatest challenge Twitter has is making users feel safe," the self-made entrepreneur said on Nov. 20. "Safe that they won't be abused by users on the platform. Safe that tweets won't lead to action off the platform that hurt people. I think this is the element that @elonmusk is missing that current AI can't protect."
The next day he reiterated his fears about security on Twitter, by reminding that the minimum age for access to the social network is 13.
"Let me take a minute to remind people that the minimum age to use twitter in any capacity is 13. With no parental permission," Cuban wrote.
'Come On'
He did not hesitate to offer proposals to Musk, including one about free speech, as Musk calls himself an absolutist defender. He asked his fellow billionaire, in the name of transparency, to publish what he considers to be free speech on Twitter. Because in the current state of affairs, the Techno King is the only one who has a clear vision of what he decrees as free speech or not.
"Come on @elonmusk We all know what free speech re the gov is because we can read the 1st Amendment and any related case law," Cuban wrote. "We have no idea what Free Speech on Twitter is because you are judge and jury. There is no transparency. When do we see the @twitter Bill of Rights ?"
Days after Musk's Twitter killed its policy against covid-19-related misinformation, Cuban just pitched Musk an original idea to limit medical misinformation.
The idea is to set up a list of more than 1,000 doctors who will vote on different medical questions. Topics can be based on current issues such as vaccines, masks etc..
Cuban says he's willing to pay to verify that the professionals speaking are who they say they are.
"@elonmusk, a suggestion relating to medical info and mis-infornation," Cuban wrote on Dec. 1. "Why not put together a Twitter list of 1k+ licensed, practicing, medical drs and allow them to vote on issues so us tweeps can see what they think? Let them vote on Vax safety, masks or any topic you pick."
'Pick All the Doctors'
He continued: "You can pick all the doctors and the topics. I'm happy to pay for someone to confirm that all their bonafides are current and real."
The billionaire's rationale is that: "we can't pretend that all medical/health related posts are equal, can we ?"
Cuban's ambition is to give average people access to medical information coming directly from recognized health professionals, as a counter to false information on Twitter, in light of the cancellation of the previous policy on covid-19-related misinformation.
"Think of it. Ask your medical board if they are fully vaxxed w boosters. If their families are. Do they wear masks indoors still. Whatever. No individual votes are revealed. Just the totals, as with all Twitter polls. What do you think ?" the billionaire argued.
Elon Musk has yet to publicly respond to Cuban.
The health industry is a new territory for Cuban. He's disrupting the $365 billion U.S. prescription-drug market with his new Mark Cuban CostPlus Drug Company. It's an online pharmacy he co-founded in January. This pharmacy is the only one of his businesses that bears his name.
"I wanted drug manufacturers, providers, patients to know that I truly care and am committed to making this work," Cuban told TheStreet in October.
CostPlus Drug Company sells generic medicines directly to consumers at low prices.
Drugs are one of the most critical expense items for many Americans. Some people find themselves in debt, strangled by exorbitant drug bills. Cuban wants to change this reality that often leads to despair.
