Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Former Twitter vice president on Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and billionaires' whims controlling social media

Former Twitter vice president on Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and billionaires' whims controlling social media

Bruce Daisley spent eight years working for Twitter and fears Elon Musk's proposed takeover could have major implications on the media with what we see and read being controlled by "who has got the biggest pile of cash".

Having huge social media platforms controlled at the "whim of billionaires" is "wholly undemocratic", a former vice president of Twitter has told Sky News.

Bruce Daisley spent eight years working for the US tech giant between 2012 and 2020, and was speaking after Elon Musk agreed a $44bn (£35.6bn) deal to buy it.

He said: "Billionaires' whims controlling media is something we've always been subject to and something we've witnessed in press and broadcast.

"But now it's coming to social platforms and the danger is it feels wholly undemocratic.

"In a democratic society the opportunity to have oversight over these incredibly powerful tools is probably something of a right.

"One of the challenges is we are allowing, and almost deferring the control of what we read and what we see - broadly to the winner of who has got the biggest pile of cash."

His comments come as Mr Musk announced he would reverse the platform's "foolish" ban on Donald Trump if his acquisition goes through.

The former US president was sanctioned "in the midst of the 6 January insurrection after repeated warnings, and final warnings", Mr Daisley said.

"He was posting things saying he thought the people invading the Capitol were loyal to him and just effectively probably drove the leadership of the organisation (Twitter) to the point where they had no choice.

"And so most people on 7 January would have said the ban was justified and most media accepted that. But I guess we've all got short memories.

"Ultimately it shouldn't be one person's decision if he comes back."

Former Twitter vice president Bruce Daisley has been speaking to Sky News


Asked how social media platforms could be made more accountable, Mr Daisley suggested greater transparency and awareness of their rules and regulations.

He said: "Quite often technology companies shroud themselves in secrecy. They try and say their algorithm is complicated and sophisticated and so the consequence of that is they avoid too much scrutiny.

"If people knew the amount of employees working on responding to issues or if people know the amount of people working to keep toxic tweets away from them - if they knew how small those teams were then they would have an opinion on it.

"Every platform from Facebook to YouTube to Twitter should have to publish the amount of people they've got working, responding to customer enquiries, reports of abuse.

"We often see these things only when they intrude into the news. A Premier League footballer is subjected to racist abuse. The first thing we say is 'how did this happen?'

"Well, if we knew it happened because there is a small team, the size of the number of Uber passengers in a car - and they're dealing with it in Hungary - if we knew all those things were the components then we would see it was obvious why it happened."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
A monster hit and a billion-dollar toy empire
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
Canada: Nurse Suspended and Fined 93 Thousand Dollars After Stating the World’s Most Well-Known Fact Since the Creation of Adam and Eve, That There Are Only Two Genders
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Whitney Bessent Backs Stablecoins to Boost Treasury Demand
Spain to Declare Disaster Zones After Massive Wildfires
Three-Minute Battery Swap Touted as Future of EVs
Beijing Military Parade to Showcase Weapons Advances
U.S. Tech Stocks Slide on AI Boom Concerns
White House Confirms Talks Over Intel Stake
Trump Suggests U.S. Could Support Ukraine ‘By Air’
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
UK Government Tries to Sue 4chan for Breaching Online Safety Act
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
"Every Centimeter of Your Body Is a Masterpiece": The Shocking Meta Document Revealed
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
China Requires Data Centres to Source Majority of AI Chips Locally, For Technological Sovereignty
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
OpenAI’s ‘PhD-Level’ ChatGPT 5 Stumbles, Struggles to Even Label a Map
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×