Elon Musk is absolutely not a ‘free speech absolutist’

Elon Musk is simply a self-proclaimed “free code absolutist.” He’s declared himself truthful committed to the unfettered, unfastened speech of ideas that he’s said the lone mode X would fto a authorities suppress code connected its level is “at gunpoint.” All of this explains wherefore Musk recently allowed X to beryllium banned successful Brazil alternatively than comply with the country’s mandate that the societal media level artifact definite accounts.

It does acold little to explicate Musk’s past of doing that precise happening successful different countries — often astatine the behest of right-wing oregon authoritarian regimes.

Musk has been unfastened to pursuing authorities orders from astir the beginning. In January 2023 — a small implicit 2 months aft Musk’s takeover — the level past known arsenic Twitter blocked a BBC documentary captious of India’s premier minister, Narendra Modi. India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting confirmed that Twitter was among the platforms that suppressed The Modi Question astatine the behest of the Modi government, which called the film “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage.”

Musk aboriginal claimed helium had nary cognition of this. But successful March, aft the Indian authorities imposed an net blackout connected the bluish authorities of Punjab, Twitter caved again. It suppressed Indian users’ entree to much than 100 accounts belonging to salient activists, journalists, and politicians, The Intercept reported astatine the time.

Later that year, Twitter’s Global Government Affairs relationship announced it had “taken actions to restrict immoderate contented successful Turkey” to guarantee the website “remains disposable to the radical of Turkey.” As Slate noted astatine the time, Twitter imposed restrictions connected definite accounts connected the eve of Turkey’s nationalist elections — and it did truthful amid rampant societal media disapproval of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. 

Twitter representatives later said the institution had filed objections to tribunal orders requiring the website to prohibition entree to immoderate posts and accounts. Still, Twitter suppressed the accounts and posts. “We received what we believed to beryllium a last menace to throttle the work — aft respective specified warnings,” Twitter said successful a statement, adding it “took action” connected 4 accounts and 409 tweets “in bid to support Twitter disposable implicit the predetermination weekend.”

Musk has previously said that contempt his idiosyncratic beliefs astir escaped speech, his “preference is to hew adjacent to the laws of countries successful which Twitter operates.” In a 2023 interrogation with the BBC, Musk said Twitter “can’t spell beyond the laws” of the countries successful which it operates. He reiterated the assertion successful an interrogation with CNN, successful which helium said the level has “no existent choice” but to comply with authorities censorship requests.

Under Musk, the website present known arsenic X has complied with specified requests readily. Between October 2022 and April 2023, Twitter received 971 requests from governments and courts to suppress circumstantial contented and place backstage accusation astir anonymous accounts, according to Lumen information analyzed by Rest of World. It complied, to immoderate degree, with 99 percent of those. The bulk of these requests came from countries with restrictive code laws, including India, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

But X isn’t ever amenable to authorities moderation requests, nor is it peculiarly vigilant astir removing amerciable content. In January 2023, a European anti-hate code radical filed a lawsuit successful Germany, alleging the level had failed to decently mean antisemitic contented and Holocaust denial connected its platform, violating some its ain policies and German law. There has been a marked emergence successful hatred code connected X since Musk’s takeover, owed successful nary tiny portion to Musk’s determination to occurrence the contented moderation squad and X’s Trust and Safety Council. 

Musk has besides been astatine likelihood with European Union regulators implicit disinformation connected X. In 2022, Musk said helium was “very overmuch connected the aforesaid page” arsenic the EU regarding the Digital Services Act (DSA), a far-reaching instrumentality that requires large online platforms to region posts containing amerciable contented and holds them legally accountable if they don’t. But the pursuing year, X pulled out of the EU’s voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation, a voluntary statement that successful effect functioned arsenic a precursor to the DSA.

EU regulators person since criticized X for allowing disinformation and amerciable content to stay connected the platform, and EU Commissioner Thierry Breton has warned Musk that regulators are keeping tabs connected the platform. Musk has, for his part, occasionally antagonized Breton and the EU regulators implicit their stance connected X.

This April, aft an Australian justice ruled that X was required to artifact a video showing a bishop being stabbed successful a Sydney church, Musk accused the state of censorship. X’s Global Government Affairs relationship said the institution believed the bid “was not wrong the scope of Australian law” and said the state “does not person the authorization to dictate what contented X’s users tin spot globally.”

Some of the inconsistencies successful X’s compliance with authorities censorship requests could beryllium attributed to technicalities. (X did not instantly respond to The Verge’s petition for remark connected its decisions.) Turkey and India requested that it suppress contented lone successful their countries, portion Australia tried to censor a video globally. But it’s worthy noting that the video played into 1 of Musk’s favored causes: combating the alleged “great replacement” of achromatic radical by immigrants and radical of color. Australian authorities said they believed the stabbing was a religiously motivated violent attack. More broadly, Musk has a past of antagonizing governments and politicians helium considers excessively “woke.”

Musk’s different concern interests whitethorn besides beryllium relevant. Erdoğan asked Musk to physique a Tesla mill successful Turkey past fall, conscionable a fewer months aft X suppressed critics’ posts. And this April, the Financial Times reported that Tesla is exploring locations for a $3 cardinal mill successful India. The antheral who once said he’d lone let 1 of his companies to suppress code “at gunpoint” is acold little steadfast successful his beliefs than helium claims.