On the 25th local time, Elon Musk, ceo of Tesla, the world's richest man, reached an agreement with Twitter's board of directors to acquire it at a price of $54.2 per share, with a transaction value of about $44 billion.
Elon Musk clinched a deal to buy Twitter Inc for $44 billion cash on Monday in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world's richest person.
The deal, which has received unanimous approval from Twitter's board of directors but still requires shareholder and regulatory approvals, is expected to close in 2022. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company.
Twitter would become a private company on completion of the deal, which requires shareholder and regulatory approval.
What changes will Musk bring to Twitter?
Musk has long slammed Twitter for its lack of free speech and has called himself an "absolute follower of free speech absolutist." The New York Times has published an article saying that Musk's acquisition of Twitter may have a huge impact on the global political discourse environment.
Musk has criticized Twitter's moderation, calling himself a free speech absolutist, and said that Twitter's algorithm for prioritizing tweets should be public, and has criticized giving too much power on the service to corporations that advertise.
Musk has criticized Twitter's censorship mechanism, describing himself as an absolute follower of free speech, saying twitter should make public its algorithms for prioritizing posts, and criticizing Twitter for giving too much power to companies that advertise.
Musk tweeted on the same day that he hoped the company would continue to provide a platform for people to express different opinions. In addition, Musk also said that he hopes to make Twitter's algorithm public to make the specific logic of content recommendation and blocking more transparent.
Musk could also crack down on the proliferation of "robots" on Twitter. This "bot" refers to a fake account that is programmed to respond to tweets on a specific topic.
“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans,” he said in a joint statement with Twitter.
In a statement co-posted with Twitter, Musk said: "I also hope to make Twitter better by enhancing some new features, making the algorithm open source to increase user trust, fighting spam bots, and authenticating real people at the same time." ”
According to CNBC, although Musk often complains about Twitter's censorship mechanism, many critics worry that the billionaire will ban opponents from speaking out after he takes control of Twitter, because his personal account often blocks dissidents.
Though Musk has indicated that his primary interest in Twitter has to do with what he views as the company’s censorship of free speech, Musk critics are concerned that the billionaire’s control over the platform will result in the silencing of their voices and others with whom he may disagree, given that he’s often blocked critics from his personal account.
White House: Uneasy about the influence of the Internet giant on the American people
U.S. White House spokesman Psaki said in response to the news of Musk's acquisition of Twitter on the 25th that President Biden has been uneasy about the impact of large online platforms on the daily lives of Americans.
Psaki noted at a regular news conference: "I would not comment on this specific deal. At the same time, no matter who owns or operates Twitter, the president has been uneasy about the power that the big social platforms have, and they have enormous power to influence our daily lives."
Speaking with reporters Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said: "No matter who owns or runs Twitter, the president has long been concerned about the power of large social media platforms, the power they have over our everyday lives."
Psaki explained that the U.S. government is concerned about the potential spread of disinformation on social networks, and it is important to hold these platforms accountable for such breaches.
TRUMP: I'm not going back to Twitter
After Twitter and Musk reached an acquisition agreement on the 25th, former US President Trump, who was previously banned by Twitter due to congressional riots, said on the same day that he would not return to Twitter, but would continue to stay on his company's newly created social media platform "Truth Social".
Former president Donald Trump, whose company is building a rival to Twitter called Truth Social, said he will not return to Twitter.
"I'm not going back to Twitter, I'm going to stay on Trust." On April 25, local time, Trump was interviewed by Fox News, saying that he would not return to Twitter, but would use his own social media as the only platform for voice.
Trump said, "I hope Musk buys Twitter because he can improve Twitter, and he's a good guy, but I'll stay onTruth." ”
"I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on Truth," Trump told Fox News. "I hope Elon buys Twitter because he'll make improvements to it, and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on Truth."