A day after Twitter takeover, Elon Musk reacts to concerns over free speech

A day after the Twitter deal, Elon Musk waded into the free speech issue after many left perplexed with the Tesla chief’s earlier response on the issue.

In a series of tweets, the world’s richest man sought to assuage the concerns raised by a section of people who were alarmed by his statement that he would uphold the bedrock of free speech.

“The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all,” he tweeted on Tuesday.

“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.”

On the day his $44 billion deal with Twitter was confirmed, Musk shared a post on Twitter talking about free speech.

"I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech means," said Musk, who claims to be a "free speech absolutist".

Twitter has often been accused of bias despite trying to maintain the neutrality of the micro-blogging site.

The people ascribing to the Right ideology have accused former CEO and founder Jack Dorsey of pandering to the Left ideology while completely shutting down those views which are contradictory to the Left.

The platform had often struggled to find the right balance between promoting free speech and government directives on taking down content.

Musk has been vocal about free speech and was critical of the ban on former US president Donald Trump last year.