Twitter has taken the unusual step of locking down its source code after its board of directors accepted Elon Musk’s bid to take over the company, according to a new report.
According to Bloomberg, the code lockdown will make it harder for employees — disgruntled or otherwise — to make changes. Bloomberg cited as its source “people familiar with the matter” who were not named.
Any changes to Twitter’s code will require approval from a vice president, Bloomberg reported.
Twitter acted “to keep employees who may be miffed about the deal from ‘going rogue,’” the Bloomberg report said, citing one of its sources.
The action produced a buzz on Twitter.
JUST IN – Twitter employees apparently added a public repository called "the-algorithm" on the platform's Github account shortly before the source code was locked.
Musk said he wanted to make the Twitter algorithm open source. pic.twitter.com/cKNmwh6iuT
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) April 25, 2022
NEW: Twitter's source code is locked down to make it harder for employees to make unauthorized changes to the platform, US Media reports. Development after Twitter was bought by Elon Musk. Likely part of the transition process. pic.twitter.com/lWxrvuXggQ
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) April 25, 2022
So many people have no idea why an entire political ideology has an issue with @elonmusk taking over @Twitter. Just wait until Musk releases the source code – you have no idea how much you've been manipulated by sources you've believed had your best interests at heart.
— Chris Gachko 🇺🇸 (@CGachko) April 25, 2022
Twitter has frozen its code before, usually before major events or to ensure mistakes do not take place.
As noted by Fortune, Musk has publicly kicked around the concept that Twitter should open-source its algorithm.
That would mean that the code Twitter uses to determine how it handles tweets would be open for everyone to see.
🚀💫♥️ Yesss!!! ♥️💫🚀 pic.twitter.com/0T9HzUHuh6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022
The change would allow everyone to see how computer programs supervise Twitter’s content.
In theory, this would make Twitter’s decisions more transparent.
During a meeting with employees on Monday, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal tried to quell the panic among Twitter’s staff, according to The New York Times.
“He wants Twitter to be a powerful, positive force in the world, just like all of us,” Agrawal said. “He believes Twitter matters.”
Employees were told that there would be no layoffs or other major changes in the next six months until the deal closes, according to the Daily Mail.
Story cited here.