Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) condemned Elon Musk’s $44 billion bid for Twitter on Tuesday night, citing the obscure cause of “algorithmic justice” as the basis for his objection.
Markey outlined his argument on – ironically enough – Twitter itself.
He said Musk and his cohort of billionaires cannot be trusted with such influence and we must “promote algorithmic justice for internet users, especially for kids.”
There should be a law against it, he argued.
“Elon Musk and a handful of billionaires now have dangerous influence over the most powerful online platforms. They can’t be trusted, and self-regulation has failed. We must pass laws to protect privacy and promote algorithmic justice for internet users, especially for kids.
Elon Musk and a handful of billionaires now have dangerous influence over the most powerful online platforms. They can't be trusted, and self-regulation has failed. We must pass laws to protect privacy and promote algorithmic justice for internet users, especially for kids.
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) April 26, 2022
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) also shared her concerns on Twitter.
“One billionaire—whose estimated net worth has gotten about 10 times larger since the start of the pandemic—is about to have the power to decide how millions of people can communicate with each other. It’s dangerous for our democracy to have so much power in so few hands.”
One billionaire—whose estimated net worth has gotten about 10 times larger since the start of the pandemic—is about to have the power to decide how millions of people can communicate with each other. It’s dangerous for our democracy to have so much power in so few hands.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) April 26, 2022
Musk has repeatedly highlighted “free speech” as his underlying concern since making the deal to take charge of Twitter.
“The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all,” he tweeted Tuesday.
For her part, Warren also got into a very public spat with the multi-billionaire last year after he was named Time’s “Person of the Year.”
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