Free Speech Union welcomes Musk’s Twitter takeover

“If Musk can transform Twitter into a safe space for democratic debate, that would be an even bigger achievement than creating Tesla or SpaceX.”

THE FREE SPEECH UNION welcomes Elon Musk’s take over of Twitter (read more here).

It said:

“We look forward to an overhaul of the social media company’s content moderation policies so it becomes possible for users to challenge prevailing orthodoxies, whether about the participation of transwomen in women’s sports or the effectiveness of the Covid vaccines, without running the risk of being no-platformed.

“The billionaire inventor has described himself as a ‘free speech absolutist’ and accused Twitter of ‘failing to adhere to free speech principles’ in its capacity as the ‘de facto public town square'. We agree that if the microblogging site is to continue to play a critical role in shaping the news and current affairs agenda – and hosting debates around the world about controversial issues – free speech needs to be at the core of everything it does.”

The takeover appears to be great news for Twitter, and we certainly have some interesting months ahead of us. Will high-profile Twitter cancellations be reinstated (Donald Trump being the leading example of these)? Will Twitter’s algorithms be made more transparent? Here’s hoping.

Toby Young, General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, appears hopeful, noting: “If anyone can do it, Elon can.”

He added:

“If Elon Musk can transform Twitter into a safe space for lively, democratic debate, where people can express their honestly held opinions without risking being cancelled, that would be an even bigger achievement than creating Tesla or SpaceX.”