A day after Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover for $44 billion, he explained what he meant by free speech in a tweet. He also lashed out at critics who opposed his takeover, saying, “The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all.”
He added that he is “against censorship that goes far beyond the law”. Based on his tweet, Musk’s Twitter will not go against the law to promote free speech. “If people want less free speech, they will ask the government to pass laws to that effect,” he added.
Musk has recently said suspending a news publication’s Twitter account for publishing a truthful story was ‘incredibly inappropriate,’ referring to the company’s reaction to a New York Post story in 2020 on President Joe Biden’s son.
Musk was responding to a tweet from the co-host of a podcast on the US Politics who shared an article on Twitter’s Chief Legal Officer, Vijaya Gadde, referring to him as the company’s top censorship advocate.
In his first tweet following the deal with Twitter, Musk reiterated his commitment to free speech. “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” he said.
EU official tweets a warning
After Musk’s acquisition, European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton has reportedly warned him to comply with the European Union content moderation rules.
Published on
April 27, 2022
