Elon Musk and Twitter: What Does ‘Freedom of Speech’ Actually Mean?
                     Elon Musk and Twitter: What Does ‘Freedom of Speech’ Actually Mean?
Elon Musk owns around a 9.2% stake 
in Twitter and he is also the largest 
individual shareholder in that 
company. He is putting all his efforts 
to buy Twitter and had also signaled 
that the company would allow all 
speech that the first amendment 
protects in the form of free speech, 
under his ownership. Musk also 
explained that he is against 
censorship that goes far beyond the 
law. www.desertcart.ae
Elon Musk and Twitter: What Does ‘Freedom of Speech’ Actually Mean?
According to his tweet on April 26, 2022, 
he meant that free speech needs to 
match the law. Many people were quick 
to point out that Twitter is a private 
company and hence not required to 
follow the First Amendment; which 
applies only to the federal and state 
governments. Some were even criticizing 
that harmonizing Twitter’s content rules 
could lead to an explosion of 
misinformation, incendiary statements, 
and hate speech that is currently 
moderated by the company. www.desertcart.ae
What is the First Amendment?
The First Amendment (Amendment I) is part of 
the United States Constitution that prevents the 
government from making laws to regulate an 
establishment of religion or prohibit the free 
exercise of any religion. It also supports the 
freedom of speech, the freedom of assembly, 
and the freedom of the press.
It also gives people the right to petition the 
government in order to redress any grievances. 
This was adopted on December 15, 1791, as part 
of the ten amendments that constitute the bill of 
rights.
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What Does Freedom of Speech Actually Mean?
This refers to the speech that takes 
place in a traditional or a designated 
public forum which is protected with 
certain exceptions. It is basically a 
principle that supports the freedom of 
every individual or community to 
articulate their opinions without any 
fear of retaliation or censorship or a 
legal sanction by the government.
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What Does Freedom of Speech Actually Mean?
The United Nations has recognized freedom 
of expression as a human right in the 
universal declaration of human rights. Many 
countries around the world also have 
constitutional law that helps them to protect 
freedom of speech. There is a difference 
between freedom of speech and freedom of 
expression which is sometimes used in 
political discourse. In legal terms the 
freedom of expression includes activities that 
seek, receive or impart information and ideas 
in any medium.
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Musk’s Statement After Announcing the Twitter Deal
Elon Musk believes that free speech is the 
bedrock of a vibrant and functioning 
democracy and hence Twitter is the digital 
town square where the matters that are vital 
to the future of humanity are discussed and 
debated to make better choices and 
decisions for all. He wants to make Twitter 
much better than ever before and enhance 
the product by adding new features. 
www.desertcart.ae
Musk’s Statement After Announcing the Twitter Deal
He also wants to make the algorithms 
open source in order to increase trust 
and defeat the spambots; while also 
authenticating all humans using Twitter. 
Musk believes that Twitter has a 
tremendous potential and looks 
forward to working with the 
community of users to unlock this 
potential. 
www.desertcart.ae
www.desertcart.ae