On Tuesday,
But the day before, the
The apparent contradiction underscores the steep learning curve awaiting the world’s richest man once he encounters the complexity of Twitter’s content moderation in dozens of languages and cultures. Twitter has to comply with the laws and regulations of multiple countries while taking into account the reaction of advertisers, users, politicians and others.
“He certainly wouldn’t be the first person to say, ‘I’m going to do this’ and then realize that either they don’t really want to do it or their users don’t want them to do it,” said
Speaking virtually at an auto conference, the
“I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in
Earlier in the day, Musk met with
In a video Breton tweeted late Monday, Musk said the two had a “great discussion" and added that he agrees with the Digital Services Act, which is expected to get final approval later this year. It threatens Twitter and other Big Tech firms with billions in fines if they don't police their platforms.
Shares of Twitter dropped 1.5% Tuesday to
“If Musk is concerned that many people were upset that Trump was banned, he should see how many more people would be upset if Trump was not banned,” said Kirsten Martin, a professor of technology ethics at the
Trump has previously said that he had no intention of rejoining Twitter even if his account was reinstated, telling
A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment in response to Musk’s remarks.
While Trump was president, his Twitter feed offered a mix of policy announcements, often out of the blue; complaints about the media; disparagement of women, minorities and his perceived enemies; and praise for his supporters, replete with exclamation marks, all-caps, and one-word declarations such as “Sad!”
He fired numerous officials on Twitter and his posts, like his speeches at rallies, were a torrent of misinformation.
In announcing its 2021 ban of Trump, Twitter said his tweets amounted to glorification of violence when read in the context of the
Musk’s remarks Tuesday raise questions about whether those banned besides Trump could also return. The long list of people banned from Twitter includes QAnon loyalists, COVID deniers, neo-Nazis and former reality star Tila Tequila, who was suspended for hate speech.
Other Trump allies kicked off Twitter include
White supremacist
Twitter, Musk said Tuesday, currently has a strong bias to the left, largely because it is located in
Twitter declined to comment on Musk's remarks.
O'Brien reported from
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