By Ranjona Banerji
The almost total collapse of the social media site Twitter reached one more landmark on July 1, when billionaire owner Elon Musk announced that he was limiting the number of posts that people could see to combat “data-scraping”.
Immediately, the internet was in a roil. First of all, not everyone saw Musk’s tweet so they didn’t know why they were being restricted. Most assumed it was something to do with internet freedom and government. Then some explanations emerged, although with Twitter restricted not everyone saw the announcements!
Musk’s target was not customers and subscribers, but AI companies who were helping themselves to Twitter’s data without permission. Thus “data-scraping”. Most people had no clue what that means. The internet being what it is, there was a clear division between those who explained that Musk was wrong and others who insisted he was right.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/musk-says-twitter-applies-temprary-limit-address-data-scraping-system-2023-07-01/
There is however a massive trust deficit between users and the new owner. Without offending those who will start huffing and puffing with rage, let me acknowledge that Twitter was not perfect under Jack Dorsey and his team. But as a long-time user, it is clear that we are worse off. The removal of verifications by Twitter itself means that it is hard to sift misinformation from facts. Taking payment for verification adds another layer of mistrust, since any fake news spreader can pay without any control. Musk has also declared that he is happiest with the alt right ideology and that means Twitter is susceptible to control by the most effect fake news spreaders and manipulators of all.
Musk’s open admission that he has no option but to kowtow to dictators, fascists and any government which demands personal information adds an extra layer of danger for activists and dissenters.
The problem for users is that many have spent years building networks on Twitter. It is extremely useful for gathering and sharing information with credible sources. It is also useful for engaging with a variety of people who you would not have access to. Unlike other social media sites, Twitter was the ideal place for journalists to connect with each other and potential sources.
A few years ago, pre-Musk, many Indian Twitter user switched to Mastodon. But although the experience was friendly, it did not have either the scope or reach of Twitter. It was more like Facebook, where you chatted within a created community. And because big news sites did not join, it was not useful.
Dorsey announced Blue Sky, Mark Zuckerberg has announced Threads. These are possible alternatives, when they arrive. But it will require existing Twitter users to remake their networks, which is tedious and inconvenient.
The fact is that we cannot work without social media and the internet any more. And thus in a sense, we are trapped. Hostile governments, capricious owners, devious fraudsters notwithstanding, the internet has become indispensable. Even the spectre of AI looming over us, with its own demons and magic, will not stop us from becoming more digital.
For Musk as for traditional media, the problem seems to be money and effective ways of monetisation in the age of digital information. We will pay for entertainment streaming services but we won’t pay for streams of credible information.
Musk might reach Mars before he can figure that one out!
The rest of us might well have flown into a blue sky hanging on a thread by then…
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.