What will a “free speech absolutist” do with Twitter?
What will happen when a man who describes himself as a “free speech absolutist” has bought Twitter? This is the dominating question in comments the day after Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced he is taking Twitter as a private company paying USD 44 billion for it.
“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,” Musk said. He has earlier criticized Twitter for its moderation of content and argued it must be a forum for free speech.
“Be it cars or social media, any company operating in Europe needs to comply with our rules – regardless of their shareholding,” EU Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted. Breton just a couple of days earlier had welcomed that the European parliament and Council have agreed on the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts that aim to force big tech companies and social media to work harder to stop misinformation and harmful content.
The Commission’s spokesman Johannes Bahrke said: “Our Digital Services Act applies to all major platforms, to ensure their power over public debate is subject to democratically validated rules to better protect fundamental rights online”.
Musk’s billionaire colleague, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, in a tweet indicated Twitter’s new ownership could benefit China.
“Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square?” Bezos tweeted hinting at Musk’s business relationship to China.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said: “Regardless of ownership, all social media platforms must be responsible”.
US President Donald Trump was blocked from his Twitter account by the company referring to that his tweets on January 6, 2001 contributed to violence when a mo”b stormed the US Capitol. Does being a “free speech absolutist” mean that Musk will give Trump back his Twitter account?
Moonshot News is an independent European news website for all IT, Media and Advertising professionals, powered by women and with a focus on driving the narrative for diversity, inclusion and gender equality in the industry.
Our mission is to provide top and unbiased information for all professionals and to make sure that women get their fair share of voice in the news and in the spotlight!
We produce original content, news articles, a curated calendar of industry events and a database of women IT, Media and Advertising associations.
