U.S. Sen. Ed Markey has taken exception to modifications made by billionaire Elon Musk to the social media platform Twitter, which the lawmaker says are a hazard to public well being and will require congressional intervention.
“Someone could impersonate the CDC for eight dollars, pay for it, not be authenticated and then on that site, say, ‘CDC says vaccinations are not good for you,’ ” Massachusetts’ junior senator mentioned. “That’s a public health and safety problem.”
Markey was talking with host Janet Wu and Ed Harding on WCVB’s Sunday political present On the Record, when the senator was requested about his latest official and social media interactions with Musk.
According to the Malden native, who sits on the senate’s Subcommittee on Communication, Media, and Broadband, modifications made to Twitter — and which observe the tech mogul’s buy of the short-form communications website for $44 billion — pose the danger of spreading harmful misinformation from seemingly reliable sources, and will must be the topic of Congressional concern.
Markey’s fear facilities round Musk’s resolution to change Twitter’s verification system. A verified checkmark, beforehand obtainable solely to vetted authorities, information, superstar or company accounts, was for a short time made obtainable to anybody prepared to pay Musk’s arrived at determine of $8.
Anyone might additionally, for a time, make a verified account that made them appear to be somebody they aren’t, like a big firm or a political determine.
Markey was himself so impersonated, along with his consent, by a Washington Post reporter who made a Twitter account and paid the verification charge of $8 {dollars}. He was not happy on the ease with which an official’s identify could possibly be used and wrote to Musk, demanding through the social media platform and an official congressional letter that Twitter’s new proprietor do one thing about it.
The billionaire has since halted any modifications to the verification system and been clear that below his watch the social media firm would make many errors earlier than they figured issues out.
A paid-for test, when clicked on as of Sunday, signifies it has been paid for, whereas a beforehand verified account signifies it bears the verification mark “because it’s notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category.”
That change didn’t come quick sufficient for pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, which noticed its inventory worth plummet earlier this month after a parody — however seemingly verified — account utilizing firm imagery mentioned the diabetes drug insulin could be provided to sufferers free of charge. The firm was compelled to say that insulin wouldn’t, in actual fact, be free.
“If they can impersonate Eli Lilly, the CDC, a senator from Massachusetts, then anyone could impersonate anyone they wanted to and then spew out misinformation into the public sphere,” Markey mentioned. “So, I’ve asked Elon Musk to: one, tell me what went wrong, and two, what he’s going to do to fix it.”
Markey’s interview, taped Thursday however aired Sunday, got here after the senator despatched Musk a letter with a Nov. 25 deadline to reply to 4 written questions.
“(Musk) could respond to my tweets but failed to respond to my letter by yesterday’s deadline and answer basic questions about Twitter verification,” Markey mentioned through Twitter on Saturday. “Congress must end the era of failed Big Tech self-regulation and pass laws that put user safety over the whims of billionaires.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”
