Elon Musk's decision to pull out of buying Twitter will benefit users of the social media platform, some experts have said.

The Tesla and SpaceX boss’s $44 billion (£36.5 billion) bid to buy the social media platform appeared to be on the verge of collapse on Friday (July 8), after he sent a letter saying he is terminating the acquisition.

In the letter, Mr Musk’s lawyers said the platform has “not complied with its contractual obligations” surrounding the deal, namely giving him enough information to “make an independent assessment of the prevalence of fake or spam accounts on Twitter’s platform”.

Twitter said in response it is “committed to closing the transaction” and plans to “pursue legal action” in order to conclude the deal.

The Northern Echo: Mr Musk had put a $44 billion deal offer in to buy Twitter (PA)Mr Musk had put a $44 billion deal offer in to buy Twitter (PA) (Image: PA)

Adam Leon Smith, of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT and a software testing expert, told the PA news agency: “The number of spam accounts on Twitter is hardly a secret, or a surprise.

“Twitter is like a town square, open to all to shout abuse and praise as they see fit.

“That is its greatest strength and weaknesses at the same time.

“Keeping free speech out of the hands of billionaires can only be for the benefit of the general public.

“Whoever ends up owning Twitter, the challenges for all social media are how to manage dissent and debate in a way that ends online hate speech and keeps people safe.

“These are yet be fully resolved in the UK’s Online Safety Bill, which needs to balance technical and regulatory solutions with education.

The Northern Echo: Twitter said they would be pursuing legal action against Elon Musk for not completing the deal (PA)Twitter said they would be pursuing legal action against Elon Musk for not completing the deal (PA)

“Perhaps the upcoming global regulatory landscape has played a part in Mr Musk’s decision, or maybe the whole thing was just another PR stunt.”

Paul Bernal, professor of information technology law at the University of East Anglia, said: “The main thing to say is that the current situation is not unexpected: a lot of us have been thinking that Musk was getting cold feet and has been looking for a way out.

“Owning Twitter sounds ‘cool’ but the reality would not be easy, would not be fun, and would not be particularly lucrative.

“This is a reflection of how difficult ‘free speech’ is in general, a lot of people, particularly in the US, seem to imagine that all you do is ‘stop censoring’ and then everything will be OK, but it’s really much more nuanced and multifaceted than that.

“Whatever you do has implications, and will annoy one group or another.”

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