After a series of online spats, legal troubles, and very nearly a court trial, Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter
The sale officially closed on October 27, and Twitter filed to remove its shares from the New York Stock Exchange the next day, becoming a private company. With Twitter as a private company, Musk has much more control over its operations, as well as fewer regulatory restrictions.
Still, the tech CEO doesn't have total freedom when it comes to what changes he can make. Regulations on misinformation and hate speech online will still apply to the privately owned platform.
Since Musk took over, Twitter's board of directors has been dissolved, and the company's chief executive Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, top legal and policy executive Vijaya Gadde, and general counsel Sean Edgett have all been fired.
On Monday, a spokesperson also announced that a quarter of Twitter's workforce will be laid off in what is expected to be the first of a series of cuts.
After the sale closed, Musk announced the formation of a Twitter content moderation council made up of members with "widely diverse viewpoints," something that arguably undermines the tech billionaire's previous statements. Along with stating his intent to remove the permanent ban from former President Donald Trump's account, Musk has implied that Twitter would be generally more permissive under his leadership.
The potential for less moderation was the argument behind support for Musk's purchase of Twitter. Despite the possible signs that his statements about free speech may have been overblown, Republicans and conservative commentators have been celebrating the acquisition.
Some of the other individuals cheering Musk's takeover have been more damaging: after the sale was announced, users under the impression that the new owner would be ushering in a moderation-free era on the platform flooded the site with offensive and rule-breaking content.
Some users coordinated a campaign of more than 1,200 anti-semitic posts, and there has also been a huge increase in the prevalence of racist and transphobic content on the site. With that increase in offensive content, there is some concern that advertisers might start leaving the platform.
Advertisers haven't started pulling out yet, but celebrities have been quick to make their displeasure known. Several major celebrities, including singer Sara Bareilles and "Gray's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes, have made posts saying they'll no longer be using Twitter.
There are also reports that Twitter plans to increase the price of its subscription service, Twitter Blue, from $5 per month to $20 per month. In order to continue to qualify for verification, users will have to pay for membership. In response to questions about the change, Musk said that the "whole verification process is being revamped right now".
