Elon Musk’s $44bn education in free speech

埃隆·馬斯克440億美元的言論自由教訓(xùn)

He has had a crash course in the trade-offs in protecting free expression on Twitter

在保護(hù)Twitter言論自由的權(quán)衡取舍方面，他上了個(gè)速成班

Dec 19th 2022

FILE - SpaceX's Elon Musk waves while providing an update on Starship, on Feb. 10, 2022, near Brownsville, Texas. Twitter on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, suspended the accounts of journalists who cover the social media platform and Musk, including reporters working for The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and other publications

2022年2月10日，在德克薩斯州布朗斯維爾附近，SpaceX的埃隆·馬斯克在提供星艦更新時(shí)揮手致意。推特于2022年12月15日周四暫停了報(bào)道社交媒體平臺(tái)和馬斯克的記者的賬戶，包括為《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》、《華盛頓郵報(bào)》、《美國有線電視新聞網(wǎng)》和其他出版物工作的記者

Elon musk’s two months running Twitter has been an unhappy experiment. The social network’s 250m users have endured a wearying saga in which Mr Musk is the central character. Advertisers have fled. Twitter, which lost $221m in 2021, is now on track to lose $4bn a year, by one estimate. The damage has spread to Tesla, Mr Musk’s carmaker, part of the reason it has lost half a trillion dollars in market value since early September, costing Mr Musk the title of the world’s richest man.

埃隆·馬斯克經(jīng)營Twitter的兩個(gè)月是一次不愉快的實(shí)驗(yàn)。該社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)的2.5億用戶經(jīng)歷了一段令人厭倦的傳奇故事，馬斯克是其中的中心人物。廣告商紛紛逃離。據(jù)估計(jì)，2021年虧損2.21億美元的Twitter現(xiàn)在有望每年虧損40億美元。損失已經(jīng)蔓延到馬斯克的汽車制造商特斯拉，這是該公司自9月初以來市值損失5000億美元、馬斯克失去全球首富頭銜的部分原因。

On December 19th it looked as if Mr Musk might throw in the towel, after he asked Twitter users whether he should step down as Twitter’s chief executive. It has been a costly adventure. But in one sense his turbulent stewardship of the social network has done the rest of the world a favour. In two short months Mr Musk has been through a public crash course in the principles of free speech, neatly demonstrating the trade-offs involved in protecting expression online.

12月19日，在問Twitter用戶他是否應(yīng)該辭去Twitter首席執(zhí)行官一職后，馬斯克似乎要認(rèn)輸了。這是一次代價(jià)高昂的冒險(xiǎn)。但從某種意義上說，他對(duì)社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)的動(dòng)蕩管理，幫了世界其它地區(qū)一個(gè)忙。在短短的兩個(gè)月里，馬斯克參加了一個(gè)關(guān)于言論自由原則的公共速成班，巧妙地展示了保護(hù)網(wǎng)絡(luò)言論所涉及的權(quán)衡。

From the outside, Twitter seemed simple to someone whose day job was building self-driving cars and space rockets. Mr Musk, a self-described “free-speech absolutist”, had grown concerned (with some justification) that Twitter had been captured by censorious left-wing scolds. Shortly after agreeing to buy the platform he explained his approach to moderation: “By ‘free speech’, I simply mean that which matches the law.”

從外面看，對(duì)于一個(gè)日常工作是制造自動(dòng)駕駛汽車和太空火箭的人來說，Twitter似乎很簡單。馬斯克先生自稱是“言論自由的絕對(duì)主義者”，他越來越擔(dān)心(在一定程度上) Twitter 已經(jīng)被挑剔的左翼批評(píng)者占領(lǐng)。在同意購買該平臺(tái)后不久，他解釋了他的節(jié)制方法：“我所說的‘言論自由’只是指符合法律的言論?！?/p>

In practice he has found that the right to speech conflicts with other rights. One is safety. Last month Mr Musk said that his commitment to free speech meant he would not ban a Twitter account that tweeted the whereabouts of his private jet, even though he considered this a security risk. But on December 14th he changed his mind after a “stalker” bothered his son. After suspending the jet account, Twitter introduced rules outlawing the reporting of others’ real-time locations.

在實(shí)踐中，他發(fā)現(xiàn)言論權(quán)與其他權(quán)利相沖突。一個(gè)是安全。上個(gè)月，馬斯克表示，他對(duì)言論自由的承諾意味著他不會(huì)禁止一個(gè) Twitter 賬戶發(fā)布他私人飛機(jī)的下落，盡管他認(rèn)為這是一個(gè)安全風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。但是在12月14日，一個(gè)“跟蹤者”騷擾了他的兒子，他改變了主意。在暫停了暴露他飛機(jī)的賬戶后，Twitter引入了禁止報(bào)告他人實(shí)時(shí)位置的規(guī)定。

As well as limiting speech in the name of safety, Mr Musk has curtailed it to avoid the lesser sin of causing offence. In October the number of views of tweets that Twitter deems “hate speech” doubled, as users tested the limits of Mr Musk’s regime. Rather than allow this legal-but-nasty content, Twitter cracked down. In November hateful tweets recorded one-third fewer views than before the takeover. Earlier this month Twitter suspended the account of Ye, a rapper formerly known as Kanye West, after he posted a picture of a swastika within a Star of David—an image that, however grotesque, is nonetheless permitted by America’s laws.

除了以安全的名義限制言論，馬斯克還減少了言論，以避免造成冒犯他人這一較輕的罪行。10月，隨著用戶測(cè)試馬斯克政權(quán)的極限，Twitter認(rèn)為“仇恨言論”的推文瀏覽量翻了一番。Twitter 沒有允許這種合法但令人討厭的內(nèi)容，而是對(duì)其進(jìn)行了打擊。今年11月，充滿敵意的推文的瀏覽量比收購前減少了三分之一。本月早些時(shí)候，Twitter暫停了說唱歌手坎爺?shù)馁~戶，因?yàn)樗l(fā)布了一張大衛(wèi)之星上的納粹黨徽?qǐng)D片后，暫停了他的賬號(hào)。無論這張圖片多么怪誕，美國法律仍然允許這樣做。

Mr Musk even limited speech when it was bad for profits. After pranksters sent tweets aping brands like Pepsi (“Coke is better”) and Nestlé (“We steal your water and sell it back to you lol”), Twitter outlawed such behaviour to stop advertisers fleeing. Then, to stem an exodus of users, on December 18th Twitter said it would ban people from linking to rival social networks or posting their usernames. When questions were raised as to whether regulators would consider such a move anticompetitive, Mr Musk apologised and free speech was restored.

當(dāng)言論對(duì)利潤不利時(shí)，馬斯克甚至?xí)拗蒲哉?。在惡作劇者發(fā)推特模仿百事可樂（“可口可樂更好”）和雀巢（“我們偷了你的水再賣給你，哈哈”）等品牌后，Twitter宣布這種行為為非法，以阻止廣告商逃離。然后，為了阻止用戶流失，12月18日，Twitter表示將禁止人們鏈接到競爭對(duì)手的社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)或發(fā)布自己的用戶名。當(dāng)有人質(zhì)疑監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)是否會(huì)認(rèn)為此舉反競爭時(shí)，馬斯克先生道歉并恢復(fù)了言論自由。

All this holds two lessons for whoever follows Mr Musk as Twitter’s boss, should he leave. One is to keep content moderation at arm’s length. The person deciding whether a post is acceptable is compromised if they are also responsible for boosting engagement among users and spending by advertisers. Mark Zuckerberg (whose reputation has risen in light of Mr Musk’s pratfalls) realised this and outsourced Facebook’s moderation headaches to an independent “oversight board” in 2020.

如果馬斯克離開，所有這些都為接替他成為Twitter老板的人提供了兩個(gè)教訓(xùn)。一個(gè)是與內(nèi)容保持一定距離。如果決定一個(gè)帖子是否可以接受的人還負(fù)責(zé)提高用戶的參與度和廣告商的投資，那這個(gè)人就很難辦了。馬克·扎克伯格（他的聲譽(yù)因馬斯克的失誤而上升）意識(shí)到了這一點(diǎn)，并在2020年將 Facebook 的緩和難題外包給了一個(gè)獨(dú)立的“監(jiān)督委員會(huì)”。

The second lesson is that moderation has no clean solutions, even for “technokings” with strong views on free speech. Free expression is not a problem with a solution bounded by the laws of physics that can be hacked together if enough coders pull an all-nighter. It is a dilemma requiring messy trade-offs that leave no one happy. In such a business, humility and transparency count for a lot.

第二個(gè)教訓(xùn)是，一味地溫和并不是好的解決方案，即使是對(duì)言論自由持強(qiáng)烈觀點(diǎn)的“科技狂人”也是如此。如果有足夠多的程序員通宵工作，那么自由表達(dá)并不是一個(gè)物理定律約束下解決方案所面臨的問題。這是一個(gè)兩難的境地，需要混亂的權(quán)衡，沒有人會(huì)高興。在這樣的行業(yè)中，謙遜和透明非常重要。

These are novel concepts to some in Silicon Valley, who are impatient to tear up the established ways of doing things. But just as cryptocurrency enthusiasts have recently received a bracing lesson in the value of boring old financial prudence, Mr Musk and his fellow free-speech enthusiasts are learning why free expression has caused so many to scratch their heads for so long. Tech valuations have suffered a sharp correction in 2022. It has also been a chastening year for tech egos.

對(duì)于硅谷的一些人來說，這些都是新奇的概念，他們迫不及待地想要打破既定的做事方式。但正如加密貨幣愛好者最近得到了一個(gè)令人振奮的教訓(xùn): 乏味的舊式財(cái)務(wù)審慎的價(jià)值所在，馬斯克先生和他的言論自由愛好者同伴們正在學(xué)習(xí)為什么言論自由讓那么多人撓頭這么長時(shí)間?？萍脊晒乐翟?022年遭遇大幅回調(diào)。對(duì)于技術(shù)自負(fù)的人來說，這也是磨練的一年。

Notes

Wearying?adj. making you feel tired疲倦的: a long wearying journey

Saga?n. a long complicated series of related, usually negative, events冒險(xiǎn)故事；傳說；英雄事跡；: It was just another episode in the ongoing saga of their marriage problems.

On track?making progress and likely to succeed走上正軌: They're on track to make record profits.

Throw in the towel?to stop trying to do something because you have realized that you cannot succeed認(rèn)輸;覺得成功無望而放棄: Three of the original five candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination have now thrown in the towel.

Turbulent?adj. involving a lot of sudden changes, arguments, or violence騷動(dòng)的；騷亂的: a turbulent marriage

Stewardship?n. Someone's stewardship of something is the way in which that person controls or organizes it管理工作；管事人的職位與職責(zé): The company has been very successful while it has been under the stewardship of Mr White.

Crash course?a course that teaches you a lot of basic facts in a very short time強(qiáng)化速成班: I did/took a crash course in French before my trip to Paris.

Absolutist?n. a person who holds absolute principles in political, philosophical, or theological matters專制主義者；絕對(duì)論者: He was a moral absolutist with little patience for shades of grey.

Censorious?adj. often criticizing other people吹毛求疵的: his censorious attitude to those who do not share his opinions.

Moderation?n. the quality of doing something within reasonable limits自我節(jié)制；自我控制: You can eat whatever you want as long as it's in moderation.

Whereabouts?n. the place where a person or thing is下落；去向: Trupin is thought to be in the Caribbean, although his exact whereabouts are/is a mystery.

Outlaw?v. to make something illegal or unacceptable宣布…為違法: The new law will outlaw smoking in public places.

Curtail?v. to stop something before it is finished, or to reduce or limit something截?cái)?；縮短: to curtail your holiday/spending

Regime?n. a particular way of operating or organizing a business, etc.政權(quán)；政體；社會(huì)制度；管理體制: The regime in this office is hard work and more hard work.

Takeover?n. a situation in which a company gets control of another company by buying enough of its shares接管；收購；接收: They were involved in a takeover last year.

Grotesque?adj. strange and unpleasant, especially in a silly or slightly frightening way奇形異狀的；奇怪的；可笑的: By now she'd had so much cosmetic surgery that she looked quite grotesque.

Prankster?n. someone who plays pranks on people惡作劇者

Ape?v. to copy something or someone badly and unsuccessfully（尤指笨拙地）模仿；學(xué)…樣子: He called the new building unoriginal and said that it merely aped the classical traditions.

Stem?v. to stop something unwanted from spreading or increasing遏制；封堵；遏止: These measures are designed to stem the rise of violent crime.

Exodus?n. the movement of a lot of people from a place大批的離去: There has been a mass exodus of workers from the villages to the towns.

Pratfall?n. an embarrassing defeat or failure丟人現(xiàn)眼: Most of us get over the pratfalls of childhood.

Oversight?n. responsibility for a job or activity and for making sure it is being done correctly疏忽；失察: Who has oversight of genetic testing?

Novel?adj. new and original, not like anything seen before新奇的；異常的: a novel idea/suggestion

Bracing?adj. having a strong effect on your senses or emotions令人興奮的；使人心曠神怡的: The finale, bracing and exhilarating, dazzled from start to finish.

Prudence?n. behaviour that is careful and avoids risks審慎: The firm was commended for its financial prudence.

Scratch your head?to think hard about something冥思苦想: A lot of people must be scratching their heads about which way to vote.

Chastening?adj. to make someone understand that they have failed or done something wrong and make them want to improve矯正的；懲戒性的；精煉的: He was chastened by the defeat and determined to work harder.

Ego?n. a person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance自我；自我意識(shí)的；自負(fù)

文章脈絡(luò)

【1】收購?fù)铺睾?，馬斯克頻遭打擊

【2】推特給馬斯克上了一堂言論自由的課

【3】馬斯克擔(dān)心左翼人士言論“攻占”推特平臺(tái)

【4】絕對(duì)的言論自由會(huì)侵犯他人的人身安全

【5】絕對(duì)的言論自由會(huì)冒犯他人

【6】馬斯克甚至決定屏蔽對(duì)廣告金主不利的言論

【7】&【8】推特繼任者需要明白的兩個(gè)道理

【9】推特給了馬斯克深刻的教訓(xùn)