Statements
2022

Statement on Elon Musk’s Proposal to Proceed with Twitter Deal

For Immediate Release
October 4, 2022
Contact: press@accountabletech.org

 

A diverse coalition of nonprofit advocacy groups renews its warnings of the dangers of an Elon Musk-owned Twitter as Musk resumes his bid.

As the Stop the Deal coalition made clear earlier this year, a Musk takeover of Twitter would have swift and devastating impacts on our information ecosystem – threatening the basic safeguards the platform has established to mitigate real-world harms.

The Stop the Deal Coalition released the following statement:

“An Elon Musk takeover of Twitter would provide a megaphone to extremists, threaten public safety, and devastate our already fragile democracy. Musk’s increasingly erratic behavior further proves what our coalition has said all along: This man cannot be allowed to control one of the world’s most powerful communication platforms. The Stop the Deal coalition raised the initial alarm over Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, and we remain committed to stopping this dangerous power grab by the world’s richest man.”

Nicole Gill, Executive Director of Accountable Tech and founding partner of the Stop the Deal Coalition, released the following statement:

“From the start, Musk’s on-again, off-again takeover attempt has been about one thing and one thing only: Elon Musk. He doesn’t care about Twitter users, he doesn’t care about the public good, and he certainly doesn’t care about some warped notion of “free speech.” Our safety and democracy should not be at the whim of unaccountable billionaires – particularly not one who pushes Putin propaganda and would replatform the man responsible for inciting an armed insurrection against the U.S. government. If this ongoing legal saga has proven anything, it’s that Musk is no more qualified to hold the reins of this platform than he is to negotiate world peace.”

Background on the “Stop the Deal” coalition: 

In June 2022, a diverse coalition of nonprofit advocacy organizations launched Stop The Deal – a multifaceted campaign designed to prevent Elon Musk’s hostile takeover of Twitter, and stave off the myriad harms to our information ecosystem that would inevitably stem from Musk running Twitter.

Founding members of the #StopTheDeal coalition:

  • Accountable Tech
  • Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH)
  • Fair Vote UK
  • Friends of the Earth
  • GLAAD
  • Global Project Against Hate and Extremism
  • Media Matters for America
  • MediaJustice
  • MoveOn
  • Public Citizen
  • SumOfUs
  • The Sparrow Project
  • UltraViolet

# # #

From the Newsroom

Statements
Oct 03, 2024
Accountable Tech on Injunction Against California Anti-Deepfakes Law

Accountable Tech Co-Founder and Executive Director Nicole Gill issued the following statement on U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez’s ruling to pause enforcement of AB 2389, a California law recently signed by Governor Gavin Newsom to prevent the distribution of deepfakes made about political candidates within a certain proximity to an election:

Statements
Oct 01, 2024
Accountable Tech on Enactment of Maryland Kids Code

Accountable Tech Executive Director and Co-Founder Nicole Gill issued the following statement on the Maryland Kids Code coming into effect:

Join the fight to rein in Big Tech.

Big Tech companies are some of the most powerful and profitable companies in history, presenting new threats to the safety of communities and the health of democracy. We’re taking them on through legislation, regulation and direct advocacy.