Despite the wave of terminations on Twitter, the short message service is experiencing record usage, according to Elon Musk. At the same time, it was announced on Friday that many of the remaining employees no longer want to work for Twitter after an ultimatum from Musk.
Musk had previously increased the pressure on the remaining employees. The multi-billionaire gave workers just a few hours to commit to overtime or leave the company. The Silicon Valley portal “The Verge” reported that hundreds of Twitter employees would have preferred to accept the offered severance package.
Former Employees: Continued operation of Twitter at risk
Former Twitter employees expressed fears that the continued operation of Twitter was at risk. Data scientist Melissa Ingle, who was fired by Musk in the first round of layoffs, told Technology Review that there was “not enough technical expertise left to keep the site running”.
So far, however, there have been no major technical problems. However, it is unclear whether Twitter can meet its legal obligations to delete hate speech and threats on the platform. The Twitter offices remained closed on Friday and the access cards were deactivated. However, according to an internal notification published by Britain’s BBC, the offices are set to reopen on Monday.
Criticism of the EU Commission
EU Commissioner Věra Jourová criticized the new Twitter owner: “We want social media that serve people and do not spread harmful content,” said the Vice President of the European Commission to the news portal ZDFheute.de. Musk fired “very experienced employees who, over the years of consultation, have understood what we want in Europe”.
In an interview with the newspapers of the VRM on the sidelines of the ConCon media fair in Mainz, Jourová threatened a fine in the billions. “When Musk says ‘No way’, we also say ‘No way’,” emphasized the EU Commissioner. The EU will not accept if the European information space is poisoned again via Twitter, for example through Russian propaganda. The Digital Markets Act, which came into force in the EU on November 1 and will be effective from May 2, 2023, gives the EU “teeth”, said Jourová.
