Elon Musk Gets Word Of Advice From Jacinda Ardern: Twitter 'Can Do A Huge Amount Of Harm' If Misused

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday said Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO and the new chief of Twitter Inc, Elon Musk, needs to "stick strongly to the principle of transparency."

What Happened: Ardern, speaking at a national summit on countering terrorism and violent extremism, said, "While I haven't had any opportunity to engage directly with Mr. Musk, I think the point I would make here is that social media and platforms like Twitter have a huge responsibility."

See Also: New Zealand Proposes Taxing Cow Burps, Farts To Tackle Emissions — Farmers Condemn 'Gut-Wrenching' Plan

"They can be a force for democracy, a force for connection, and for good. But also, if misused, can do a huge amount of harm," the prime minister said, adding that she was yet to meet with Musk about the "Christchurch Call" initiative.

The "Christchurch Call" initiative was launched by Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron in 2019, that has seen world leaders team up with tech giants, including Meta Platforms Inc META and Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL, to tackle terrorist and extremist content online. The anti-online hate project was launched in the wake of the mass shootings at two Christchurch mosques in 2019. 

She added that Twitter was one of the organizations that had been "deeply involved" and was a "really constructive partner" in the campaign so far. 

Meanwhile, Musk has accused Twitter's former board of directors and the company's lawyers of "deliberately" hiding evidence.

Check out more of Benzinga's Europe and Asia coverage by following this link.