When Mr. Musk started shopping for up shares of Twitter this 12 months, he began voicing extra of his ideas in regards to the service and free speech, together with in exchanges with Mr. Dorsey. In March, Mr. Musk requested his followers if Twitter was failing to stick to free speech rules.
How Elon Musk Purchased Twitter
A blockbuster deal. Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, capped what appeared an inconceivable try by the famously mercurial billionaire to purchase Twitter for roughly $44 billion. Right here’s how the deal unfolded:
“Free speech is crucial to a functioning democracy. Do you imagine Twitter rigorously adheres to this precept?” he requested.
At one other level, Mr. Musk puzzled, “Is a brand new platform wanted?”
After Mr. Musk inked the deal to purchase Twitter final month, he reiterated his free speech stance and stated he would take the corporate personal to enhance the service. He added that he hoped to extend belief by making Twitter’s know-how extra clear, defeating the bots that spam folks on the platform and “authenticating all people.” He additionally stated he hoped his worst critics would stay on Twitter, as a result of “that’s what free speech means.”
On Tuesday, he turned extra particular. “Everlasting bans needs to be extraordinarily uncommon,” Mr. Musk stated, including that they need to be reserved “for accounts which can be bots or spam” and “the place there’s simply no legitimacy to the account in any respect.”
However he additionally stated that “doesn’t imply that anyone will get to say no matter they need to say.” Mr. Musk stated he was in favor of momentary suspensions of accounts “if they are saying one thing that’s unlawful or in any other case simply, you realize, damaging to the world.” He additionally raised the concept a specific tweet may very well be “made invisible or have very restricted traction.”
Aside from Mr. Trump, others who’ve been indefinitely barred from Twitter for violating its insurance policies embrace Consultant Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, the far-right determine Milo Yiannopoulos, and celebrities like Tila Tequila. Twitter additionally labels tweets which can be factually inaccurate or that may incite violence.
Inside Twitter on Tuesday, some workers anxious that Mr. Musk’s modifications would unwind years of labor on the corporate’s insurance policies and unravel thousands and thousands of {dollars} of funding in content material moderation to stem abuse on the platform, 4 present and former workers stated. Some stated they hoped Mr. Musk would lose curiosity within the website, whereas others have begun reaching out to recruiters and pals at different tech corporations for brand new alternatives.
