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To: The Federal Trade Commission

Elon Musk shouldn't own Twitter

Twitter already has a problem protecting users from abuse on this platform, and this move from Elon to own the company would only serve to harm the millions of people on the site.

Twitter has become a platform, not just for our personal thoughts, but also a home for activists and a source used by millions to learn more about societal problems, and international and local news that isn’t covered by more prominent cable news. With Elon Musk at the helm of Twitter, he'll no doubt continue to use scare tactics against reports and journalists who critique him publicly.

Because of the size of this $43B acquisition triggers an automatic review by the FTC, and there's still room to push them to put them to hear public input, and prevent this.

Why is this important?

Elon Musk—Tesla CEO and as of January 2022, the richest man on Earth —made a $43 BILLION offer to buy Twitter. Why’s this terrifying, you ask?

This move from Musk signals what many financial experts are calling a hostile takeover of Twitter, a company and platform that Musk is already owns 9% of already.

Earlier this week, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced Musk would be joining the board, before saying that Musk had changed his mind and decided not to join the board. That decision left the door open for Musk to bid to own Twitter outright.

Elon Musk isn’t fooling anyone, Twitter is one of the largest social media platforms on the planet. While Musk claims he’ll support “free speech,” we know most of the time that’s code for a free pass on racism, homophobia, transphobia and just blatant disinformation.

The effort from the ultra-wealthy to take control of news outlets to craft their own narratives is not new (case in point: google Rupert Murdoch), but we find it ridiculous that during a deadly global pandemic, the rich just got richer. And now, Elon Musk—who paid $0 in income tax in 2007, despite his growing wealth—can now easily afford a $43B deal to take control of a platform we all enjoy. It’s time to fight back.

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Updates

2022-04-26 16:24:12 -0400

20,000 signatures reached

2022-04-23 18:59:43 -0400

10,000 signatures reached

2022-04-20 09:01:27 -0400

5,000 signatures reached

2022-04-16 08:56:07 -0400

1,000 signatures reached

2022-04-15 15:28:10 -0400

500 signatures reached

2022-04-14 17:26:26 -0400

100 signatures reached

2022-04-14 16:53:45 -0400

50 signatures reached

2022-04-14 16:42:36 -0400

25 signatures reached

2022-04-14 16:38:07 -0400

10 signatures reached