Part of Musk’s plan to balance free speech with the demands of a modern social media network involves forming a “content moderation panel” that includes members that have a “range of diverse opinions.” The panel will meet before certain major decisions are made, including the unbanning of high-profile figures like former U.S. President Donald Trump. The panel will also have a say on “major content decisions,” which will probably relate to Twitter’s new terms of service. Before buying the platform, Musk seemed dissatisfied with censorship on social media. The exact composition of the council has yet to be revealed, and until it convenes, Twitter’s terms of service remain exactly as they were before the takeover.
To be super clear, we have not yet made any changes to Twitter’s content moderation policies https://t.co/k4guTsXOIu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 29, 2022
So far, Musk has been vague about where any line would be. The closest Musk has come to establishing what he sees as a boundary for free speech relates to national laws. However, Twitter is an international company, and countries have different laws regarding speech. In the United States, freedom of speech is constitutionally protected; in places like Afghanistan, speech could contravene blasphemy laws and get you executed. While not that extreme, some politicians have challenged Musk’s plans already, citing upcoming legislation that could make a total free for all illegal in many places.
