Is Elon Protecting Free Speech Or Just Having A Hissy Fit, Again?

Since October 27, 2022, Elon Musk has been all over the news and social media with his newest purchase, Twitter.

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Back when he first let the world know he would spend $44 BILLION dollars on a social media site, he kept saying he needed to somehow be the protector of free speech.

One of the first things he did was reinstate Donald Trump's Twitter account on November 19, 2022.  I check DT's Twitter account a couple of times a month or so and he isn't using it. Turns out he uses Truth Social.

Then there was the uproar over charging for the blue check marks.

Then recently, it's been a lot about the 20 year old college student, Jack Sweeny, who ran an account that tracked his private jet, @ElonJet.

Let's go back to the protector of free speech thing. This is bad business.  Not just for America but for free speech in general.  It isn't free speech if you censor or ban the speakers.  Notice how he banned the kid with the @ElonJet account and another app that talked about the kid with the jet account.

There's a reason the forefathers of America made it the first amendment in the constitution.  They had just broken free from a country, England, that didn't allow freedom of the press.

Speaking of the E.U., according to Forbes, this move has raised some eyebrows across the pond.  There are some new rules that have come about that could cause some problems for Twitter and for Musk's bottom line.  The new Digital Services act will go into effect in 2024 and it states that a platform with over 45 million users must show  “respect of media freedom and fundamental rights.” Their Media Freedom act reinforces the Digital Services Act, and if you don't follow these rules, it's a fine of up to 6% of the platform's bottom line as a fine.

Once again, Elon's rules come down to rules for thee not for me.