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Twitter Takes on Microsoft Over Alleged Misuse of Twitter Data
Musk’s Stance on Free Speech
In a recent interview with CNBC, Elon Musk, Twitter’s chief, stated that he would say what he wants on the app, and if the consequences of that were losing money, he was fine with it. Despite paying $44 billion for Twitter, Musk claims not to be concerned about the financial aspect and won’t let it impact his decision-making at the app. Some people see this as admirable, as it underlines Musk’s commitment to free speech, however, others, such as Musk’s equity partners and investors, may not agree with this approach.
Twitter Accuses Microsoft of Misusing Twitter Data
Earlier this week, Twitter sent a letter to Microsoft accusing them of misusing Twitter’s data to train their artificial intelligence technologies. Twitter stated in the letter that Microsoft had violated an agreement over its data and had declined to pay for its usage. In some cases, Microsoft had used more Twitter data than it was supposed to, and it also shared Twitter data with government agencies without permission. This issue has arisen as Elon Musk, who is currently battling OpenAI, believes that they benefited from Twitter data, which he sees as effectively stealing from him personally.
Musk’s Quest for Retaliation Against OpenAI and Microsoft
Musk, an early investor in OpenAI, donated $100 million to the company, but he is now annoyed that it has been transformed into a $29 billion business, with Microsoft taking a large share. Musk now wants to claw back his share of that revenue intake. He has already restricted OpenAI’s access to Twitter data, which has been used to fuel its generative AI models, while also increasing how much it costs for all companies to access the same.
Microsoft Removes Twitter from Its Digital Marketing Center
Musk’s public battle against OpenAI and Microsoft has already seen Microsoft remove Twitter from its Digital Marketing Center, which will eliminate the promotion of Twitter ads to Microsoft partners. It’s hard to say what kind of impact that’ll have on Twitter’s bottom line, but with Twitter’s ad revenue, their primary source of income, already down by 50% since Musk took over, a further decline could be significant.
Musk Continues to Override Partners
Despite potential consequences for Twitter’s business relationships, Musk may continue to override incoming Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino, who is an ad industry veteran. It remains to be seen if Twitter will re-evaluate its approach or continue to let Musk make decisions based on personal grudges that could impact all of Twitter’s partners. It will be interesting to see how this situation unfolds, and whether both sides can come to an agreement.
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