5 ms·

Shouldn't they address Yaccarino, the actual CEO? I am aware that Musk still very much pulls the strings but if this is an official communication, official chan

by mqus 3y ago

Shouldn't they address Yaccarino, the actual CEO? I am aware that Musk still very much pulls the strings but if this is an official communication, official channels should be used? I'm not sure, the whole thing is just weird to me. But I do not actually disagree with the content. Content moderation is definitely an issue Musk tries to ignore.

3cats-in-a-coat 3y ago
They know who the CEO really is.
Zuider 3y ago
Thierry Breton, the author of the letter, appears to have a personal grudge against Elon Musk, and has directed several aggressive ultimatums towards him such as, "In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules," "You can run but you can't hide" and "Our teams will be ready for enforcement." Breton is set to be the next EU Commissioner, succeeding Ursula Van Der Leyden.
- Spivak 3y ago
  I can get the frustration when someone whose job it is to enforce the law repeatedly comes up against someone in the public eye who openly flaunts their violation of the law wearing a shirt that says "make me" where other companies that have sane compliance departments just follow the law and course-correct when it's pointed out without the need for a big lawsuit. Big, "I shouldn't have to keep wasting my time on this" energy.
  - renlo 3y ago
    If such a person is "frustrated" then it sounds like they don't actually have the power they claim to have, or, they would just file that "big lawsuit". And, if this is really his job, and he has the power to litigate this, then certainly this is what he should be "wasting" his time on, should it not?
    - Spivak 3y ago
      You have an oddly efficient view of "government agency sues $company for doing obviously horrible thing." These lawsuits drag on for ages, become huge political battles, and are a just a huge expenditure of resources for everyone involved that it's saved as a last resort. I don't think you would like living in a world where things like this could be settled swiftly and decisively. Having a government where voluntary compliance is the expected norm and applying real force takes time and resources is a feature not a bug.
      - nradov 3y ago
        Why should people and corporations voluntarily comply with stupid laws which limit freedom of expression? It would be better if everyone drags things out to the extent that those laws become unenforceable. In general, given that the EU itself is so fundamentally flawed, anything that undermines the power of EU bureaucrats and wastes their time is probably a net positive.
        sergiosgc 3y ago
        You just need to look at Twitter's downward slope towards the misinformation abyss to recognize the expected results of unmoderated expression. Bad actors take advantage of this freedom to drive up clicks with little regard for accuracy or nefarious side effects. If that only affects the platform, it requires no action from government: let Twitter circle the drain onto oblivion. If negative externalities affect society as a whole, intervention is required. In short: freedom of expression isn't an absolute right. The EU is correct, blatantly false posts should be suppressed. Twitter should have a moderation team, twitter MUST have someone answer take-down requests.
        nradov 3y ago
        Nah, I don't need to look at anything. I see little or no misinformation in my feed. If you see a lot then you're probably using it wrong. Freedom of expression isn't absolute, but should be close to it. The EU (or constituent national governments) should adopt the US Constitution's Bill of Rights. We have an existence proof that it works better than whatever unprincipled, haphazard policies they happen to pursue.
  - Zuider 3y ago
    That is one plausible scenario, but another is that Breton, by all accounts, an arrogant, petty autocrat, is simply attempting to impose his will, not just on Musk, but everyone else. The words he has chosen to use suggests the latter may be closer to the truth.
- diligiant 3y ago
  That's his ego talking.
  - junofan 3y ago
    Geez. Not a fan of foreign powers attempting to abridge free speech.
rsynnott 3y ago
I mean, maybe? But who was the leader of the Soviet Union in early World War 2? Like, obviously, for all practical purposes, it was Stalin, and he was treated as such. But he was never the head of state, and he wasn't the head of government until 1941. At a certain point, it's not unreasonable to assume that the person who actually is in charge, is in charge, and ignore the figurehead altogether. A CEO isn't really a particularly well-defined position under companies law anyway, in most cases. It's whatever the board says it is.
minerva23 3y ago
I see no practical reason for doing so. There's one owner who has daily involvement and final decision making power that is often exercised. Of course they'd address it to him.

by mqus 3y ago

3cats-in-a-coat 3y ago

They know who the CEO really is.

Zuider 3y ago

Thierry Breton, the author of the letter, appears to have a personal grudge against Elon Musk, and has directed several aggressive ultimatums towards him such as, "In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules," "You can run but you can't hide" and "Our teams will be ready for enforcement." Breton is set to be the next EU Commissioner, succeeding Ursula Van Der Leyden.

Spivak 3y ago
I can get the frustration when someone whose job it is to enforce the law repeatedly comes up against someone in the public eye who openly flaunts their violation of the law wearing a shirt that says "make me" where other companies that have sane compliance departments just follow the law and course-correct when it's pointed out without the need for a big lawsuit. Big, "I shouldn't have to keep wasting my time on this" energy.
- renlo 3y ago
  If such a person is "frustrated" then it sounds like they don't actually have the power they claim to have, or, they would just file that "big lawsuit". And, if this is really his job, and he has the power to litigate this, then certainly this is what he should be "wasting" his time on, should it not?
  - Spivak 3y ago
    You have an oddly efficient view of "government agency sues $company for doing obviously horrible thing." These lawsuits drag on for ages, become huge political battles, and are a just a huge expenditure of resources for everyone involved that it's saved as a last resort. I don't think you would like living in a world where things like this could be settled swiftly and decisively. Having a government where voluntary compliance is the expected norm and applying real force takes time and resources is a feature not a bug.
    - nradov 3y ago
      Why should people and corporations voluntarily comply with stupid laws which limit freedom of expression? It would be better if everyone drags things out to the extent that those laws become unenforceable. In general, given that the EU itself is so fundamentally flawed, anything that undermines the power of EU bureaucrats and wastes their time is probably a net positive.
      - sergiosgc 3y ago
        You just need to look at Twitter's downward slope towards the misinformation abyss to recognize the expected results of unmoderated expression. Bad actors take advantage of this freedom to drive up clicks with little regard for accuracy or nefarious side effects. If that only affects the platform, it requires no action from government: let Twitter circle the drain onto oblivion. If negative externalities affect society as a whole, intervention is required. In short: freedom of expression isn't an absolute right. The EU is correct, blatantly false posts should be suppressed. Twitter should have a moderation team, twitter MUST have someone answer take-down requests.
        nradov 3y ago
        Nah, I don't need to look at anything. I see little or no misinformation in my feed. If you see a lot then you're probably using it wrong. Freedom of expression isn't absolute, but should be close to it. The EU (or constituent national governments) should adopt the US Constitution's Bill of Rights. We have an existence proof that it works better than whatever unprincipled, haphazard policies they happen to pursue.
- Zuider 3y ago
  That is one plausible scenario, but another is that Breton, by all accounts, an arrogant, petty autocrat, is simply attempting to impose his will, not just on Musk, but everyone else. The words he has chosen to use suggests the latter may be closer to the truth.
diligiant 3y ago
That's his ego talking.
- junofan 3y ago
  Geez. Not a fan of foreign powers attempting to abridge free speech.

rsynnott 3y ago

I mean, maybe? But who was the leader of the Soviet Union in early World War 2? Like, obviously, for all practical purposes, it was Stalin, and he was treated as such. But he was never the head of state, and he wasn't the head of government until 1941. At a certain point, it's not unreasonable to assume that the person who actually is in charge, is in charge, and ignore the figurehead altogether. A CEO isn't really a particularly well-defined position under companies law anyway, in most cases. It's whatever the board says it is.

minerva23 3y ago

I see no practical reason for doing so. There's one owner who has daily involvement and final decision making power that is often exercised. Of course they'd address it to him.