[ti:Musk Takes over Twitter, What's Next?] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Elon Musk has taken ownership of Twitter. [00:04.88]Musk immediately removed the company's top leaders. [00:10.52]But no one knows exactly [00:13.04]what the billionaire businessman will do [00:15.84]with the social media service. [00:19.32]"The bird is freed," Musk wrote on Twitter after he completed [00:24.56]his $44 billion takeover of the company on Thursday. [00:31.68]He was making note of Twitter's logo, which is a small blue bird. [00:39.00]The closing of the deal ended months [00:41.88]of uncertainty surrounding the influential service. [00:47.52]In April, Musk offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion. [00:54.96]Musk said at the time that his goal [00:57.96]was to shape the service into a place for free speech. [01:02.68]Three months later, he withdrew his offer [01:07.20]saying Twitter did not provide him with enough information [01:12.16]about the number of false, or fake, accounts. [01:17.52]Twitter then opened a legal action, or lawsuit, [01:22.28]to force Musk to complete the deal. [01:26.00]A judge in the state of Delaware ordered Musk [01:30.08]and Twitter to complete the deal by Friday. [01:35.24]Musk has left Twitter employees, investors [01:39.28]and the public wondering what he will do with the service. [01:45.44]On Thursday night, Musk wrote an extended comment about the deal. [01:51.56]Musk wrote: "The reason I acquired Twitter [01:55.88]is because it is important to the future of civilization [02:00.88]to have a common digital town square, [02:04.72]where a wide range of beliefs can be debated [02:08.88]in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence." [02:14.60]Musk, the world's richest man, [02:17.88]said he did not buy Twitter to make more money. [02:23.04]He said that Twitter "cannot become a free-for-all hellscape." [02:30.04]He also said it would become "the most respected [02:34.52]advertising platform in the world." [02:39.12]Yet Musk has not offered details [02:42.16]on how he will reach his goals for the company. [02:47.12]He also has not said who will run the company. [02:53.00]Pinar Yildirim teaches marketing [02:55.88]at the University of Pennsylvania's business school. [03:00.60]She said Musk's latest comment is a change [03:04.80]from his earlier position [03:07.08]that Twitter unfairly restricted free speech. [03:12.36]She noted that it is an understanding [03:15.76]that having no content moderation is bad for business. [03:22.60]It also puts Twitter at risk of losing advertisers and users. [03:30.28]Yildirim told the Associated Press, [03:33.40]"You do not want a place where consumers just simply [03:37.76]are bombarded with things they do not want to hear about, [03:42.08]and the platform takes no responsibility." [03:45.68]In May, Musk said he would end Twitter's ban [03:50.60]on the account of former president Donald Trump. [03:55.16]The account was removed [03:57.12]after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. [04:02.40]Trump said at the time that he would not return to the service [04:07.32]and has since launched his own social media service, Truth Social. [04:13.96]As concerns rise about the direction of Twitter's content moderation, [04:20.08]European Union Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton [04:25.36]tweeted to Musk on Friday that "In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules." [04:33.48]Under EU rules, technology companies like Twitter [04:37.96]could face severe financial penalties [04:41.80]if they do not control illegal or harmful content, [04:46.92]including hate speech and disinformation. [04:52.12]Twitter is struggling to reach users [04:55.88]as compared to other social media services. [05:00.32]Major Twitter users make up 10 percent of the service, [05:05.16]but they create 90 percent of all tweets. [05:10.44]I'm Dorothy Gundy. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM