The developments since Elon Musk’s recent purchase of Twitter have the industry questioning the viability and brand safety of the platform as an advertising channel. Musk has not only fired much of the company’s executive team, but has also dissolved the board of directors, making himself the sole director. What is most concerning to advertisers are possible plans for opening the platform up to all speech, eliminating past content moderation policies and reinstating previously banned accounts.

Musk has tried to address some of these concerns writing on the platform last week: “Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences.” He further added: “Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world.” In another post, he noted that the social media platform would be “forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.”

So far, however, Interpublic Group (IPG) and Cairns Oneil have both advised their clients to pause their Twitter activity. The IPG news was confirmed by a Tweet posted by Morning Brew‘s Ryan Barwick while Cairns Oneil sent a statement to MiC. In the note, the independent agency said the pause would go in effect for a minimum of two weeks or “until material changes to protect people are made.” Mediabrands and FCB followed suit sending similar notices to clients.

Devon MacDonald, president of Cairns Oneil, says the ability of the platform to improve content moderation when it’s been stated that it will both dramatically cut staff while also opening allowable speech does not seem to align to the needs of brands or public safety. “It’s important for brands to recognize the environments that they participate in as it reflects the values of their organization and reputation,” he states.

“There is risk that Twitter could become an unviable property for brands to be present in. Opening discussions and welcoming all speech on Twitter can create an atmosphere that is harmful to people, and unsafe for brands.” MacDonald cites Adidas’ recently ended partnership with Kanye West based on antisemetic remarks made or amplified on the platform as an example of the harm that is possible.

Sarah Thompson, president of Dentsu Media, says that with this news the agency is watching for the reinstatement of previously banned accounts that would impact brand safety and quality of the environment. Also of concern are potential changes in staff that would result in a decline in service for Dentsu and its clients. “Yes, we are concerned for our clients’ investment,” she explains.

“We are prepared with alternative solutions for media investment – and we are always talking to our clients about brand safety and suitability to help them manage through this uncertainty. We’ve already seen clients halting their Twitter investment as we are all extremely cautious in this transition to new ownership.”

Kevin Kivi, EVP and general manager, Horizon Media, says he is concerned for the opening of the floodgates of hateful, hurtful, and in some cases unvalidated speech. “I’m concerned for our clients as it no longer presents a safe and viable place to invest our advertising dollars or reach audiences respectfully, but I’m also concerned about the volume of people that could be impacted globally by possible layoffs. It’s early days, but I think we need to watch this space very carefully over the next 60 to 90 days to see what Elon Musk does with the platform.”

Kivi says if Twitter does become a platform of concern, agencies and marketers need to consider and look at ways to reach audiences differently via local means. Local media continues to struggle in Canada, and he would urge clients to think differently about ways to leverage it to drive safe and trusted engagement with audiences.

“The answer shouldn’t be to reallocate funds from one global player and place them on another such as Meta, which has proven to be unreliable and lacking some data safety protocols in the past. The opportunity here is to truly think differently and not chase the cheapest possible CPM,” concludes Kivi.