Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Sep 06, 2025

Former Twitter vice president on Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and billionaires' whims controlling social media

Former Twitter vice president on Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and billionaires' whims controlling social media

Bruce Daisley spent eight years working for Twitter and fears Elon Musk's proposed takeover could have major implications on the media with what we see and read being controlled by "who has got the biggest pile of cash".

Having huge social media platforms controlled at the "whim of billionaires" is "wholly undemocratic", a former vice president of Twitter has told Sky News.

Bruce Daisley spent eight years working for the US tech giant between 2012 and 2020, and was speaking after Elon Musk agreed a $44bn (£35.6bn) deal to buy it.

He said: "Billionaires' whims controlling media is something we've always been subject to and something we've witnessed in press and broadcast.

"But now it's coming to social platforms and the danger is it feels wholly undemocratic.

"In a democratic society the opportunity to have oversight over these incredibly powerful tools is probably something of a right.

"One of the challenges is we are allowing, and almost deferring the control of what we read and what we see - broadly to the winner of who has got the biggest pile of cash."

His comments come as Mr Musk announced he would reverse the platform's "foolish" ban on Donald Trump if his acquisition goes through.

The former US president was sanctioned "in the midst of the 6 January insurrection after repeated warnings, and final warnings", Mr Daisley said.

"He was posting things saying he thought the people invading the Capitol were loyal to him and just effectively probably drove the leadership of the organisation (Twitter) to the point where they had no choice.

"And so most people on 7 January would have said the ban was justified and most media accepted that. But I guess we've all got short memories.

"Ultimately it shouldn't be one person's decision if he comes back."

Former Twitter vice president Bruce Daisley has been speaking to Sky News


Asked how social media platforms could be made more accountable, Mr Daisley suggested greater transparency and awareness of their rules and regulations.

He said: "Quite often technology companies shroud themselves in secrecy. They try and say their algorithm is complicated and sophisticated and so the consequence of that is they avoid too much scrutiny.

"If people knew the amount of employees working on responding to issues or if people know the amount of people working to keep toxic tweets away from them - if they knew how small those teams were then they would have an opinion on it.

"Every platform from Facebook to YouTube to Twitter should have to publish the amount of people they've got working, responding to customer enquiries, reports of abuse.

"We often see these things only when they intrude into the news. A Premier League footballer is subjected to racist abuse. The first thing we say is 'how did this happen?'

"Well, if we knew it happened because there is a small team, the size of the number of Uber passengers in a car - and they're dealing with it in Hungary - if we knew all those things were the components then we would see it was obvious why it happened."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
×