Unless you've been hiding under a rock, news about Elon Musk buying Twitter has been all the rage about town. Musk spoke of adding end-to-end encryption for direct messages on the social media platform, adding another level of security and privacy for users.
Elon stated in a tweet, "Twitter DMs should have end-to-end encryption like Signal, so no one can spy on or hack your messages." This Twitter post came out just a few days after Musk announced he was buying Twitter for USD 44 billion, purchasing each share for $54.20 in cold hard cash.
The concern for many people is that having an ultra-rich person control a platform so many see as a form of free speech, a key element within a democracy, could mean the future of open dialogue might die out quickly. Many Twitter users see the social media platform as a virtual town square where people can come and discuss ideas, topics, and ongoing events of the day.
But Elon Musk argues, "I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open-source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans."
Currently, Twitter lacks end-to-end encryption for direct messages, potentially risking users' privacy and safety, a significant point of contention for EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation). The EFF states that "because they are not end-to-end encrypted, Twitter itself has access to them," risking users' privacy and safety, which means that Twitter and malicious hackers have complete access to all users' private communications.
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