Elon Musk Is Now 'Chief Twit' Of Twitter: What Happens To Your Personal Data?

Now that Elon Musk is the self-anointed "Chief Twit" at Twitter, a lot of changes are expected to take place at the company. For starters, Elon Musk has fired many employees, including Parag Agrawal, who became the CEO only last year in November.

For $44 billion, Elon Musk has acquired what he once called the "town square" of our digital realm. Naturally, Musk will also own all your user data.

Reuters

Is your data safe with Musk?

Currently, if you wish to delete your Twitter data, you can request the same but it'll take at least 30 days. As reported by Vox, your DMs can stay on the server for years after deleting the account.

Dear Twitter Advertisers pic.twitter.com/GMwHmInPAS

¡ª Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2022

the bird is freed

¡ª Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022

While it's unclear what data moves Elon Musk will make at Twitter, he's shown interest in firing a whooping 75% of Twitter staff. With a smaller workforce, Twitter's security woes could pile up.

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Also read: Elon Musk Heads To Twitter HQ With A Ceramic Sink, Changes Twitter Bio To 'Chief Twit'

It's important to not forget that none of your direct messages (DMs) on Twitter are end-to-end encrypted, which means that someone with the right access might be able to read them.

Twitter's privacy policy, too, states that the company "may share, sell, or transfer information about you in connection with a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or bankruptcy."

Can Elon Musk access your Twitter data?

While it's possible in theory, it would not be straightforward, as Andy Wu, a professor from Harvard Business School, told Vox.

Twitter's team could refuse to fulfill Musk's data requests, if any. Then he'd be compelled to replace them, which would require him to go through the board of directors. It's already clear that Musk will install his own board immediately.

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Also read: Was Elon Musk Right? Internal Documents Show Twitter's Losing Its Heaviest Users

Elon Musk's intent with each user's private data is unknown, and pieces will fall into place in a few weeks from now when the transfer of power is complete. In a Tweet, Musk said that he wants to make Twitter "the most respected advertising platform in the world" with "advertising that is as relevant as possible to [users¡¯] needs."

In the end, if Elon Musk wants to see someone's personal data, "he could probably do that," Wu said. One positive sign is Musk's interest in adding end-to-end encryption to Twitter DMs, making it impossible for anyone but the sender and receiver to see those messages.

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What do you think about Elon Musk's plans for Twitter and its users? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

References

Vox. (2022). What happens to your Twitter data when Elon takes over. https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/10/27/23427106/elon-musk-twitter-privacy-settings-data-direct-messages

Herman, A. (2022, October 5). Twitter, Data, And Elon Musk. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/arthurherman/2022/10/05/twitter-data-and-elon-musk/

Dang, S., & Roumeliotis, G. (2022, October 28). Elon Musk¡¯s Twitter ownership starts with firings, declares the ¡°bird is freed.¡± Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/elon-musk-completes-44-bln-acquisition-twitter-2022-10-28/