Twitter Debates Musk's Proposed 'Moderation Council' as Users Volunteer

Elon Musk said that his newest business venture, Twitter, plans to form a "content moderation council" to make decisions regarding the platform's future.

Musk made the announcement in tweet on Friday, the day after finalizing a $44 billion deal to buy the social media giant—and the final day the deal could close before being taken to trial.

The Tesla CEO added in the tweet that "no major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes." It is currently unclear how the council will be formed.

Some users immediately began volunteering to be on Musk's proposed council, including conservative author Nick Adams, who wrote in response to Musk's tweet, "I volunteer."

British politician George Galloway also added in, "Hire me."

The announcement also received a wave of criticism on Friday, with some users making jokes about who would be appointed to the council. British economist Umair Haque wrote that "the new content moderation council will consist of two nazis, a fascist, a republican, a tech bro, three bots, and a pundit."

Political commentator Jason Killmeyer also responded to Musk's announcement arguing "you can't do content moderation at scale."

"The process will eventually be corrupted," Killmeyer added.

Killmeyer added in a later tweet that "there is no wise council of elders - no list of luminaries of varying political stripes & backgrounds - to arrive at the right content moderation policy."

Adrian Hilton, a lecturer at the University of Surrey, tweeted that Musk's announcement filled him "with a sense of foreboding" as questions around the council's formation linger.

"Who appoints the members of this content moderation council?" Hilton wrote. "Which council will hear the appeals to its judgments? What qualifies this content moderation council to judge orthodoxy and acceptability?"

Other users supported the concept, arguing that a moderation council could potentially improve the platform that in the past has removed tweets and users for violating its code of conduct.

Talin Dilsizyan, head of social media at the German news site Neue Westfälische, wrote that if the council "discloses why and how it took specific decisions this could truly improve #Twitter."

Lauren Weinstein, a political commentator who focuses on tech systems and the internet, said that it was "inappropriate to diss" Musk's proposal before he releases more information about the council.

"Let's see how it is structured, who is on it, how it reports, & how Elon responds to its recommendations," Weinstein wrote. "If it's just a paper tiger, we'll know soon enough. But it's important to wait & see."

Some users had debated leaving the platform after Twitter board members first said they would accept the buyout. Many critics of the billionaire CEO said they were willing to leave after the deal was finalized Thursday, but several agreed to stay despite their distrust of the mogul.

Newsweek reached out to Musk's press team for further comment on the announcement.

Correction 11/04/22, 4:45 p.m. ET: This article was updated to reflect that Talin Dilsizyan works at a German news site, not a Dutch news site.