MARIA: WELCOME BACK MANY WELL,
TWITTER HAS BEEN ORDERED TO GIVE
IN TO ELON MUSK’S REQUEST FOR
DATA ON THE FAKE ACCOUNTS OR
SO-CALLED BOTS, A DELAWARE JUDGE
SAYING THAT MUSK’S DEMAND FOR
TRILLIONS OF TWITTER DATA IS,
QUOTE, ABSURDLY LARGE BUT
ORDERED THE COMPANY TURN OVER
SOME OF THE DATA REGARDLESS, THE
RULING COMES DAYS AFTER A
WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT AGAINST
TWIT R BY THE FORMER -- TWITTER
BY THE FORMER SECURITY CHIEF.
JOINING ME NOW, DIRECTOR FOR
CENTER OF TECHNOLOGY AND INKNOW
INNOVATION, JESSICA MALUJIAN.
WHAT’S YOUR REACTION TO ALL OF
THIS?
DID THE WHISTLEBLOWER IMPACT
MUSK’S CASE AGAINST TWITTER?
>> YEAH, I THINK WE’VE TAKEN THE
KICKING THE TIRES OF TWITTER UP
A NOTCH HERE.
THE WHISTLEBLOWER HAS SOME
COMPLAINTS ABOUT TWITTER THAT
OVERLAPPED WITH THE CHARGES THAT
ELON’S MAKING AND NEW COMPLAINTS
ABOUT INTERNAL SECURITY PROBLEMS
AND A LACK OF ENCRYPTION, THINGS
LIKE THIS.
SO I THAT SORT OF BOLSTERED ELON
CASE TO SAY I THOUGHT I WAS
BUYING ONE THING AND IT TURNS
OUT THAT ISN’T WHAT’S HERE AND I
THINK THAT’S WHAT HE’S ASKING
THE COURT TO SAY, LIKE HAS THERE
BEEN ENOUGH DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
WHAT I WAS TOLD AND WHAT APPEARS
TO BE THE TRUTH TO JUSTIFY
HALTING THE DEAL.
MARIA: WELL, I MEAN, WE DON’T
KNOW WHO TO TRUST AT THIS POINT.
YOU’VE GOT MARK ZUCKERBERG OVER
THERE SAYING THAT, YEAH, WE
CENSORED THE HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP
STORY BECAUSE THE FBI TOLD US
TO.
YOU’VE GOT META AND TWITTER
DELETING INAUTHENTIC ACCOUNTS,
THEY CLAIM THEY’RE INAUTHENTIC,
THAT SPREAD PRO-U.S. MESSAGES TO
AUDIENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND
ASIA, INCLUDING POSTS ABOUT
RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE,
FACEBOOK TELLING THE WASHINGTON
POST IT’S THE FIRST TIME THEY
REMOVED FOREIGN FOCUSED ACCOUNTS
PRESENTING PRO-U.S. MESSAGING.
JESSICA, WHAT’S GOING ON HERE
WITH SOCIAL MEDIA.
>> WHAT’S GOING ON WITH SOCIAL
MEDIA IS IT’S VERY COMPLICATED
AND VERY COMPLEX TO OVERLAP THIS
TECHNOLOGY WITH SORT OF OUR CORE
AMERICAN VALUES.
WE KNOW THAT WE’RE FOR FREE
SPEECH IN THIS COUNTRY.
HOW DOES THAT WORK WHEN IT’S
PUBLIC ENTITIES PRESSURING
PRIVATE PLATFORMS, THINGS GET
TRICKY OF.
THINGS GET COMPLICATED WHEN THE
WHITE HOUSE PRESSURES A CERTAIN
KIND OF CONTENT MODERATION FOR
COVID INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, WE
KNOW THAT IS ICKY AND THAT’S NOT
SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE
HAPPENING.
THE GOVERNMENT SHOULDN’T PUSH
PEOPLE AROUND WITH WHAT KIND OF
SPEECH CAN BE CARRIED ON THEIR
PRIVATE PROPERTY.
WHEN THIS HAPPENS ON THE
INTERNATIONAL STABLE, AND THIS
SEEMS TO BE, WE DON’T KNOW FOR
SURE, PERHAPS U.S. MILITARY
PROPAGANDA, A PRO-WESTERN
MESSAGE THAT’S DELIVERED OUT IN
THE MIDDLE EAST AND RUSSIAN
SPEAKING CENTRAL ASIA, MAYBE WE
AS A COUNTRY FEEL DIFFERENT
ABOUT THAT MAYBE WE WANT OUR
INTERESTS BROADCAST LIKE THAT.
WE DON’T KNOW THE ANSWERS TO ALL
OF THESE QUESTIONS YET.
WHAT WE HAVE TO REMEMBER IS
SOCIAL MEDIA’S REALLY POWERFUL
BUT IT’S ALSO RELATIVELY NEW AND
WE’RE KIND OF FEELING OUR WAY
THROUGH THESE ISSUES.
THAT’S GOING TO BE MESSY FOR A
WHILE LIKE MOST TECHNOLOGIES ARE
AT THE BEGINNING.
MARIA: I MEAN, YOU WOULD THINK
THAT THESE COMPANIES WOULD BE
INDEPENDENT BUT CLEARLY THEY’RE
NOT.
THE FBI PICKS UP THE PHONE AND
SAYS CENSOR A STORY ABOUT HUNTER
BIDEN BECAUSE THERE’S ALSO
RUSSIA DISINFORMATION AND THEY
DO JUST THAT.
MEANWHILE, THE STORY WAS TRUE.
THE NEW YORK POST REPORTED ALL
ACCURATE FINDINGS OF THAT LAPTOP
THAT HUNTER BIDEN HAD TAKEN IN
ALL OF THIS MONEY, TENS OF
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FROM CHINESE
COMPANIES, RIGHT BEFORE THE
ELECTION.
THE INFLUENCE PEDDLING WAS
CENSORED.
>> YEAH, WHAT I’M HOPING IS --
MARK ZUCKERBERG, IF YOU LISTEN
TO THE PODCAST, DID SAY -- JOE
ROGAN ASKED HIM STRAIGHT OUT, DO
YOU REGRET HAVING DEMOTED THAT
STORY.
TWITTER BANNED THE LINK.
FACEBOOK WOULDN’T LET IT BE
PROMOTED AS HEAVILY WHILE THEY
WERE CHECKING INTO THE VALIDITY.
IT’S A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
THE THRUST IS THE SAME.
WHEN JOE ROGAN ASKED ZUCKERBERG
DO YOU REGRET THAT DECISION, HE
WAS QUICK TO SAY THAT HE DID.
WHAT I’M HOPING IS THAT WE’RE
LEARNING AS WE GO AND A THESE
PLATFORM.
LEO:PLAT HAD -- PLATFORMS ARE MO
INCLINED TO LET THE SPEECH GO.
IF YOU BELIEVE IT’S A GOD GIVEN
RIGHT TO ELECT YOUR OWN LEADERS
YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO TRUST
PEOPLE MORE TO SORT THROUGH FOR
THEMSELVES WHAT’S TRUE AND
WHAT’S NOT.
MARIA: YEAH.
WELL, THEY DEFINITELY PUT THEIR
USERS AT A DISADVANTAGE BY DOING
THAT.
JESSICA, IT’S GREAT TO GET YOUR
TAKE ON ALL OF THIS.