By Michael Haag | Sports Writer
CEO of Tesla Motors and billionaire Elon Musk has been in the worldwide spotlight for his soon-to-be $44 billion purchase of the popular social media application Twitter — and rightfully so. Musk has essentially given Twitter’s board no other option, and honestly, good for him for executing his plan.
The thing is, his whole stance on trying to make the platform a true place for freedom of speech has me puzzled. I absolutely agree that everyone should be given that right, since it’s literally in the U.S. Constitution, but let’s be honest: Musk is not entirely a puzzle-piece fit for this idea since he routinely blocks people who oppose him, including the literal Twitter account itself.
Does having the right to free speech mean you must listen to everyone? Absolutely not. I’m not saying you should be forced to endure listening or reading someone’s stuff you don’t care for. However, for Musk to be preaching freedom of speech, don’t you think it’s frowned upon that he blocks some of his haters or opposition?
I mean, think about a presidential debate. Both sides have to listen and consider the opposing side, whether they like it or not. I’m not saying this directly applies to social media, but it does seem funny that someone who preaches about free speech has his counterpart blocked on the platform he’s buying.
To add, Musk’s plans are still vague in terms of how he plans to implement this free speech, but he wants to configure it based on each country’s laws regarding the subject. This sounds good in theory, right? Absolutely. Let’s say we can all say whatever we want in the states on the platform, but when you think about that for more than five seconds, you begin to question that.
I mean, there’s a reason you can’t scream “Fire!” in a crowded public setting.
I am a firm believer that censorship is a no-no, but allowing free rein for all will be a travesty. Simply put, think of the internet trolls and what they are already capable of — yikes.
It’ll be a long road until we see what happens with our beloved Twitter. I hope Musk can implement what is best for the platform, but the vagueness is a cause for concern regarding how Musk plans on doing this. It’s safe to say that we’ll see how it goes. At the end of the day, we’ll all still be using Twitter (yes, me too), and I’m sure everything will be just fine.
