Elon Musk has not presented a detailed plan as to how he would run Twitter, but he sure has shared a number of ideas. Among these is a potential way to help the social media platform monetize its services by charging corporations and government users.
Musk, however, clarified that these charges would not be affecting casual Twitter users. The CEO highlighted his points in a recent tweet. “Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users,” Musk wrote.
Twitter’s potential monetization strategies seem to be a topic that Musk finds important. While pitching his Twitter buyout to banks, Musk reportedly highlighted that Twitter could be run in a more cost-efficient manner. The CEO also reportedly floated the idea of charging media companies to quote or embed tweets.
This, of course, comes with a number of caveats. Critics may argue that charging for tweets would not promote the first amendment — which would be ironic considering Musk’s stance on free speech. The specific charging model for corporations and governments would also be quite challenging to create.
While Musk is yet to complete his $44 billion buyout of Twitter, he has already attracted the attention of several groups that are concerned about what may happen to the social media platform once it becomes a de facto online town square that values free speech. Among these groups is a coalition of 26 organizations that demanded that Musk set three non-negotiable standards for Twitter.
These standards include (1) the continued ban of public figures and politicians who violated Twitter’s rules in the past; (2) a serious push to ensure algorithmic accountability and preserve people’s privacy; (3) and a continuous effort to boost Twitter’s commitment to transparency and researcher access.
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