Free speech clashes with tech accountability

Hi all, it’s Kurt Wagner in Denver. Tech’s role in upholding free speech is up for debate again. But first...Three things you need to know t [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi all, it’s Kurt Wagner in Denver. Tech’s role in upholding free speech is up for debate again. But first... Three things you need to know today: • Server maker Super Micro fell after short-seller Hindenburg Research said it [found accounting issues]( • Chinese hackers breached American and [Indian internet companies]( • JD.com outlined plans for a [$5 billion stock buyback]( A line in the sand Over the weekend, Pavel Durov, the chief executive officer of the messaging platform Telegram, was [arrested outside of Paris](. Authorities allege that Durov, a Russian-born billionaire who founded the service in 2013, had failed to fight crime committed on the app by its users, including the spread of child sexual abuse material. The arrest sparked serious concern among some of the social media industry’s most high-profile decision-makers who worried that French authorities have created a threat to free speech globally. “#FreePavel,” [posted]( X owner Elon Musk, who also responded with a “100” emoji to a post saying X could be next. Over on Nostr, a decentralized network popular with Jack Dorsey, the Twitter co-founder reposted a message that said, “The guy should be freed.” X CEO Linda Yaccarino [quoted]( George Washington. “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter,” she wrote. Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg didn’t comment on Durov specifically, but on Monday sent a letter to US politicians trying to distance himself from any form of government-inspired censorship. In the letter, Zuckerberg [alleged that the Biden administration “pressured” Meta]( to remove content about Covid-19. “The government pressure was wrong,” he wrote, “and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.” The letter’s timing — and underlying message — doesn’t feel coincidental. For years, the social media industry has struggled to police content on its services, wavering back and forth on which words or phrases or attacks ultimately merit removal. Telegram, which has a reputation for being [mostly hands-off]( when it comes to content moderation, has struggled as much as any of its competitors. The app has been credited with helping give people under authoritarian rule a safe space to congregate; it’s also been linked to [extremism]( [terrorism]( and child pornography. Historically, the industry has drawn a line in the sand at content that could cause “real-world harm” — the types of posts that can jump off the screen and encourage or motivate dangerous behavior offline. That includes those peddling illegal drugs and weapons, or engaging in human trafficking. While there are still plenty of unknowns when it comes to Durov, it sounds as though [this is the kind]( of content that French authorities are focused on. A French cybercrime unit is looking into allegations that Durov was “refusing to help authorities run legal wiretaps on suspects, enabling the sale of child sexual abuse material and aiding and abetting drug trafficking.” (A Telegram spokesperson called those claims “absurd.”) No one can fully prevent these things from happening online, especially on a platform as big as Telegram, which has 900 million users. But there is a big difference between being imperfect at combatting this criminal activity and allowing it to go unchecked on a service you built. It’s reasonable, I think, to be a supporter of free speech while simultaneously fighting against content that could get people killed or ruin a child’s life. To say those two ideas can’t coexist feels both rigid and dangerous. Despite his posts condemning Durov’s arrest, Musk himself seems to agree with this, or at least did at one point. “By ‘free speech,’ I simply mean that which matches the law,” he [posted]( in 2022. This is a major moment for discussion about social media and global free speech. But it’s also a major moment for tech industry accountability. We are still awaiting key details about what Durov did — or didn’t do — to try and stop criminal behavior. But if you build or run a service that propagates criminal activity without stepping in to try and halt it, simply throwing up your hands and proclaiming free speech has never been an adequate defense.—[Kurt Wagner](mailto:kwagner71@bloomberg.net) The big story While much of the world is debating whether AI will wipe out human jobs, people in the Philippines are [already experiencing it](. The new AI tools are upending the call centers that are key for the country’s outsourcing industry. One to watch [Clint Sharp, co-founder and CEO of Cribl, speaks on Bloomberg Television about his startup’s latest fundraising round](. Get fully charged Meta will close an augmented reality studio as it shifts spending and [prioritizes artificial intelligence](. Startup Cerebras looks to outdo Nvidia with a [new AI processor](. NFL star Travis Kelce and his brother, Jason, who recently retired from pro football, signed a $100 million [podcast deal with Amazon](. 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