When Elon Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion, his motive was to enable free speech on the platform. However, free speech isn’t as simple as it sounds.
After he confirmed the transaction, several took to social media to criticize what Musk was trying to do. The primary point revolves around the fact that sometimes people blur the line between free speech and hate speech or free speech and misinformation.
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As a result, it could be detrimental for the platform and the users if Musk enables free speech with no form of regulations in place. Finally, The Tesla CEO, who responded to all the criticism, has opened up about what he means by free speech.
According to him, he wants users to have the ability to have free speech within the law. There have been times when the platform has restricted accounts, even when the tweets were well within the law. He doesn’t want any censorship which goes beyond the law.
By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law.
I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.
If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect.
Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2022
At this point, he’s rather surprised as to why others are reacting when he’s trying to allow users to come forward with their ideas without any restrictions. But, not all ideas are good ideas.
WWE Superstars are divided over Elon Musk purchasing Twitter
When something as huge as purchasing Twitter goes down, there will be protesters and supporters from all industries. Coming to the pro-wrestling industry, two former WWE Superstars are on opposite ends of the spectrum about the purchase – Mick Foley and Ryback.
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Mick Foley expressed his concerns over the free-speech notion, claiming that he was considering leaving Twitter since the purchase. While he doesn’t have a problem with free speech, it’s possible others will misuse the freedom to be hateful on a social platform.
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On the other hand, Ryback, who has a restricted Twitter account, has reached out to Elon Musk since the purchase. The former WWE superstar wants Musk to help him restore his account so that it isn’t restricted and he can connect with his fans without any limitations.