Photo: Reuters
Jeff Bezos asked on Twitter whether Elon Musk’s $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter. This means it provides China “a bit of leverage over the town square.” The social media platform is currently banned in that country, where Musk has major business ventures.
Musk, who has always been against Twitter’s content moderation policies and described himself as a free speech absolutist. Later Musk struck an agreement to buy the company out on Monday.
Some people believe that this is an indication of how Musk will moderate Twitter and reinstall blocked characters such as former US President Donald Trump.
Questions are emerging about the impact of this deal on Twitter’s China content policy, with Tesla, Musk’s automaker company, mainly depending on doing business in that country for manufacturing and selling cars.
Late on Monday, a tweet from Bezos read: “Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square?”
“My own answer to this question is probably not. The more likely outcome in this regard is complexity in China for Tesla, rather than censorship at Twitter,” he added.
Musk posted on Twitter Monday that he hopes “that even my worst critics remain on Twitter. Because that is what free speech means.”
On Tuesday, the Chinese government responded to recent rumors by stating that they have no plans to use leverage over Tesla. They did this to gain control of Twitter content.
A Tesla spokesperson said the company has no comment, while Twitter also chose silence.
Employees and Twitter management wonder if the deal justly compensates for the company’s value. Also, how it would impact the operations. Some spectators also ask how Musk will run the company considering his already helming two giants – Tesla and SpaceX.
