Elon Musk became the boss of Twitter with a simple watchword: everyone should be able “to express themselves freely, within the limits of the law”. The boss of Tesla and SpaceX, a claimed libertarian, has repeatedly said that he is a “free speech absolutist” and an opponent of “censorship” operated on social networks by the leaders of the giants of the technology, accused of leaning to the left and of being hostile to the Conservatives. But he is, despite himself, already doing the hard learning of content moderation.
One case is emblematic: Elon Musk restored, on November 20, the account of producer Kanye West, suspended in early October by Twitter for remarks deemed anti-Semitic. But, the 1er December, he had to suspend this account after Mr. West, now a presidential candidate in 2024 and close to neo-Nazi militants, posted a logo mixing a Star of David, a Jewish symbol, and a swastika, a Nazi symbol. “His account is suspended for incitement to violence”, justified Mr. Musk, invoking one of the rare reasons allowing to restrict the freedom of expression guaranteed by the first amendment of the American Constitution.
But, ironically, this decision earned him immediate criticism in the name of the principles he defends: “As a free speech absolutist, this ban doesn’t ring true. Even if you vehemently disagree with what Kanye West said, he did not break the law or incite violence”, challenged far-right YouTuber Tayler Hansen. “The image combining a swastika and a Star of David that earned the suspension is not illegal. Far from there. Despite his ambitions for freedom of expression, Elon Musk made the choice to remove legal but horrible content », insisted American law professor Eric Goldman.
A bit of mischief
A nod to history: it is also in the name of the risks of real violence that Twitter, Facebook and YouTube banned, in January 2021, Donald Trump, whose supporters had invaded the Capitol in Washington, after he contested the results of the presidential election… However, the suspension of the account of the ex-president is “the” symbol of partisan censorship brandished by the conservatives and by Mr. Musk, who moreover restored the account of the ‘former president.
Leaders of social networks did not fail to greet the neophyte with a touch of mischief: “Welcome to the wonderful world of finding the best compromise between moderation and freedom of expression”, tweeted the leader of Meta Yann LeCunafter Mr Musk received a “lesson” from Emmanuel Macron on not letting problematic content proliferate.
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