If he takes control of Twitter, he will lift the suspension of Donald Trump’s account. This was announced on Tuesday by billionaire Elon Musk, who recently signed an agreement to buy the social network for 44 billion dollars.
This permanent suspension of the account of the former president of the United States had been decided after the attack on the Capitol, because of the risk of incitement to violence. But Elon Musk believes it was a decision “morally bad” and ‘senseless’: ‘I think it was a mistake because it alienated a lot of the country and ultimately didn’t stop Donald Trump from being heard’ since he is now on his own social network, underlined the entrepreneur during a conference organized by the Financial Times. Donald Trump himself has ruled out returning to the social network.
“Banning Trump from Twitter doesn’t stop him from speaking out”
“What I’m trying to say…is that banning Trump from Twitter doesn’t stop him from speaking out”added Mr. Musk, believing that it was even going “to amplify (his speech) to the right”. Permanent bans should be “extremely rare” and reserved for example for false accounts, estimated the entrepreneur.
“That doesn’t mean anyone can say whatever they want, if they say something illegal or destructive to the world”, added Mr. Musk. But then you have to consider temporary suspensions or tweets”which are rendered invisible” Where “with a very limited scope”.
“I think permanent bans fundamentally undermine trust in Twitter as a public place where everyone can express their opinion”he noted.
The richest man in the world has decided to buy Twitter to make it a private company, not listed on the stock exchange, and wants to make it a bastion of freedom of expression, which he considers flouted by a moderation of content too strict. Monday, after a visit by the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, to Texas, the businessman however assured that he fully agreed with the new European rules on the regulation of social networks, which will constrain the major platforms to better fight against illegal content.