CONCERNS have been raised that Twitter/X owner Elon Musk may have access to users’ direct messages – after a claim he made about Humza Yousaf’s “private communications”.
The social media boss and entrepreneur is engaged in a ferocious war of words with the former first minister, with Yousaf suggesting he may sue Musk after being branded “super, super racist”.
In response to a tweet sharing a news article about the pair’s online dispute, Musk said: “I dare that scumbag [Yousaf] to sue me. Go ahead, make my day…”
But in a comment which has been seized on by Twitter/X users concerned about their privacy on the platform, Musk added: “Legal discovery will show that however big a racist he’s been in public communications, he is vastly worse in private communications.”
Legal discovery refers to the process where parties in a dispute can obtain evidence from the other.
Parties can be compelled to comply with requests for information, though were Yousaf (above) to bring a defamation case against Musk it is unclear whether the SNP MSP would be required to hand over his own private communications.
According to US legal website Lexology, in most American courts it is the person making accusations of defamation that must prove they are being defamed, meaning the burden of proof in this situation would fall on Yousaf.
What does Twitter/X say?
According to Twitter/X’s online help centre the company is “not quite there yet” in terms of where it aims to be on the privacy of direct messages, sometimes known as DMs.
The website said: “X seeks to be the most trusted platform on the internet, and encrypted direct messages are an important part of that. As Elon Musk said, when it comes to direct messages, the standard should be, if someone puts a gun to our heads, we still can’t access your messages.
“We’re not quite there yet, but we’re working on it.”
The company has unveiled plans for encrypted messages, which will meet the highest standards of online privacy – but are only available to “verified users” or accounts linked to a “verified organisation”.
Twitter/X users responded to Musk’s tweet, voicing concern about the privacy of their messages.
One said: “Remember, your private messages are not actually private.”
Another added: “Elon grassing on himself that he sneaks [through] people’s private conversations.”
