British lawmakers have invited Elon Musk, who will soon become the owner of twitter, to testify before a parliamentary committee about his plans for the social media company. Julian knight, a member of Congress and chairman of the parliamentary committee on numbers, culture, media and sports, issued an invitation in an open letter on Wednesday.
The committee is responsible for reviewing issues such as social media policy-making, hoping to discuss Musk's proposed acquisition of Twitter and the changes he plans to make. Knight's discussion topics listed in his letter include Musk's intention to launch authentication services for all users, improve the transparency of robot and spam accounts, and the need to strike a balance between civil liberties such as freedom of speech and addressing cyber hazards.
Musk, who already runs Tesla and SpaceX, will play a big role in the new acquisition announced at the end of April. Twitter's decision to accept his offer brought a variety of reactions from affected communities: from celebration to despair. But most importantly, most Twitter users have been asking what Musk's ownership means for the future of the social media company. Although he has put forward some ideas, we can't understand the full impact until his acquisition is completed, provided that the transaction is finally approved by shareholders.
Knight said in his letter that talking to UK lawmakers would provide musk with an opportunity to address any criticism of the acquisition in public forums (although one can say that he has done so on Twitter every day since the deal was announced).
Knight said in a statement: "As social media companies face tighter regulation around the world, we are eager to learn more about how Mr musk will balance his clear commitment to freedom of expression with his new obligation to protect Twitter users from online harm. Appearing before the committee will give Mr musk an ideal opportunity to elaborate more deeply on his recommendations on twitter, and we will look forward to welcoming him in Parliament."
Musk has not responded publicly to the invitation, so it is unclear whether he will appear before the Committee - or whether, like other technology leaders Mark Zuckerberg, he will avoid any attempt to ask questions at all costs.
