Musk, Twitter Slammed For Choking Internet Research

The Coalition for Independent Technology Research (CITR) and Nieman Lab have lambasted Elon Musk and Twitter for imposing a fee for researchers for a service designed to be free.

Photo Insert: Benton slammed Musk for being addicted to money but can hardly increase his stash in Twitter, which he regards as his toy, since advertisers and users have abandoned it.

In a scathing rebuke, Joshua Benton wrote for Nieman Lab that “among all of his mistakes, don’t forget Elon Musk is singlehandedly crushing a big chunk of Internet research for no good reason,” like seeking a $42,000 fee for research access that he slashed to $100 monthly for a maximum of 10,000 tweets, earning more condemnation in the process.

Benton slammed Musk for being addicted to money but can hardly increase his stash in Twitter, which he regards as his toy, since advertisers and users have abandoned it.

The CITR said in its letter that the change “will devastate public interest research” and break more than 300 ongoing research projects.

“Twitter must be held accountable to the public it impacts,” the coalition writes. “And if Twitter is to be held accountable, independent research must continue.”

The new rules are set to take effect by the end of the month.

Benton said Musk is a man who has spent the past year setting his reputation on fire, reply-guying his way into a laughingstock.

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