In the heart of Berlin, software developer Travis Brown is challenging a social media giant, known as X in this narrative but widely recognized as the platform previously called Twitter. Brown's confrontation began after Elon Musk's whirlwind acquisition of the platform, which saw policy changes and staffing upheavals.
Before Musk's time, Brown was a familiar face in the open-source circles of Twitter, contributing to projects that lay bare the workings of the social media behemoth. Post-Musk, he turned his analytical gaze toward the darker alleys of the platform, studying the rise and fall of hate speech and the patterns of account suspensions. Armed with a tool he developed and backed by the Open Knowledge Foundation, Brown collected data that didn’t cast X in the kindest light.
His endeavors didn't go unnoticed. Brown's account faced suspension, a move he asserts was X's bid to curb his probing into their operations. This clash of titans has seen Brown seek the help of HateAid, a German entity that tackles digital violence. They scored a victory with an injunction that briefly reinstated Brown’s access, but the battle lines have been redrawn as X bolsters its legal defenses for another standoff.
Brown asserts that his work, tracking extremism and disinformation, is critical, particularly under X's new regime which he believes could be fostering a dangerous digital environment. "We will not be silenced," he insists, committed to shining a light on the impact these platforms wield on our reality.
When X first suspended Brown's account in July, it was a jolt out of the blue. Yet, legal intervention in September turned the tide, if only momentarily. However, X updated its terms of service soon after, issuing a stark warning against data scraping, echoing Musk's earlier disapproval of another account, ElonJet.
Brown's data crunching has indeed been stirring up the media pot. Musk's policy reversals and the controversial return of previously banned figures like neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin have been cataloged by Brown’s diligent tracking. Furthermore, Brown's insights into X's subscriber metrics have fueled reports on the platform's adoption rates, from the early days of Twitter Blue to the more recent X Premium, unearthing subscriber dynamics and even the controversial appeal of paid verification among extremist figures.
This isn't an isolated skirmish. X's broader offensive targets organizations like the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), accusing them of unauthorized data use and blaming them for advertising downturns.
Anna-Lena von Hodenberg of HateAid frames the situation as a dire one for independent research. Supporting Brown's case is more than advocacy; it's a defense of transparency and the public’s right to insight into platform activities.
In this digital drama, the stakes are high, with implications for open research, corporate accountability, and the battle over the narrative that shapes our understanding of social media’s role in society.
Photo: DIW
Read next: Musk's Mission: The Real Reason Behind the X/Twitter Takeover
Before Musk's time, Brown was a familiar face in the open-source circles of Twitter, contributing to projects that lay bare the workings of the social media behemoth. Post-Musk, he turned his analytical gaze toward the darker alleys of the platform, studying the rise and fall of hate speech and the patterns of account suspensions. Armed with a tool he developed and backed by the Open Knowledge Foundation, Brown collected data that didn’t cast X in the kindest light.
His endeavors didn't go unnoticed. Brown's account faced suspension, a move he asserts was X's bid to curb his probing into their operations. This clash of titans has seen Brown seek the help of HateAid, a German entity that tackles digital violence. They scored a victory with an injunction that briefly reinstated Brown’s access, but the battle lines have been redrawn as X bolsters its legal defenses for another standoff.
Brown asserts that his work, tracking extremism and disinformation, is critical, particularly under X's new regime which he believes could be fostering a dangerous digital environment. "We will not be silenced," he insists, committed to shining a light on the impact these platforms wield on our reality.
When X first suspended Brown's account in July, it was a jolt out of the blue. Yet, legal intervention in September turned the tide, if only momentarily. However, X updated its terms of service soon after, issuing a stark warning against data scraping, echoing Musk's earlier disapproval of another account, ElonJet.
Brown's data crunching has indeed been stirring up the media pot. Musk's policy reversals and the controversial return of previously banned figures like neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin have been cataloged by Brown’s diligent tracking. Furthermore, Brown's insights into X's subscriber metrics have fueled reports on the platform's adoption rates, from the early days of Twitter Blue to the more recent X Premium, unearthing subscriber dynamics and even the controversial appeal of paid verification among extremist figures.
This isn't an isolated skirmish. X's broader offensive targets organizations like the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), accusing them of unauthorized data use and blaming them for advertising downturns.
Anna-Lena von Hodenberg of HateAid frames the situation as a dire one for independent research. Supporting Brown's case is more than advocacy; it's a defense of transparency and the public’s right to insight into platform activities.
In this digital drama, the stakes are high, with implications for open research, corporate accountability, and the battle over the narrative that shapes our understanding of social media’s role in society.
Read next: Musk's Mission: The Real Reason Behind the X/Twitter Takeover
