I Have A Few Ideas About What Elon Musk Should Do About Social Media Trolls

In order to be an open platform, Twitter is going to have to do something about the trolls. The reason? Unfiltered debate, an open dialog, and a wonderfully unregulated public square seems to be the goal, but to make that happen, rooting out the trolls is one critical first step that Elon Musk, the new owner, will need to make.

I’d like everyone to have the ability and opportunity to share exactly what they think and feel, and not have a social media platform policing those opinions.

Well, almost everyone.

Obviously, I’m not a fan of misinformation, abusive comments, or outright lies. I don’t think we should attack each other. But if my opinion is merely just different from the tech elite who filter out the views they don’t like, it becomes a dangerous place.

Besides, if trolls can hide behind nothing more than an email address, one that they probably created while using a VPN and without sharing their actual identity, it means the public square can never be safe.

People who are interested in sharing valid ideas and discoursing with others on a social media platform should have no problem verifying their identity.

Trolls don’t like to do that. They want to abuse others, share harmful content, and get everyone riled up. They know that is possible if they can’t be traced. Also, they are pretty dumb. To be a social media troll these days, you have to be someone who doesn’t like any policing at all, and you have to be most interested in open forums where people like to discuss ideas. Trolls like to rail against the rules, no matter who is making them, what they are, or why they exist.

It’s the same people who comment on articles, post YouTube videos with misinformation, and generally like to stir up trouble. They hide behind a VPN because they like to hide. Curiously, it doesn’t take much to stop them, because it’s not like an angry and abusive troll is actually smart or ingenious. Most of them wouldn’t know how to hack into your Wi-Fi account, let alone something well-protected.

My hope is that Elon Musk, who has a history of making suggestions about “good” regulations especially related to artificial intelligence, will stop the spambots and the trolls simply by adding a step or two to the registration process. I mean something a little more complex than an email address, but not exactly a litmus test. Today, to sign-up for Twitter, you just need an email address (because you can skip the phone number step). That means any troll can sign-up for a Gmail account and hide their identity, then start abusing people. It’s way too easy.

How about something as simple as requiring a real phone number and a step where you have to respond by text? Or even two verifications like both email and phone. I think it would help. Yes, trolls could create a Google Voice account or do some other workaround, but remember, they don’t like to think. When trolls see any roadblock that looks like it might prevent them from abusing someone, they look for easier targets. You might say that is the good thing about trolls. They are really stupid.

I’m sure there are other security measures that could work. Elon Musk might be open to trying one of them as a way to weed out the bad actors.

Let’s hope he tries something, because the one thing we know about “open networks” is that they attract even more trolls.