Elon Musk, the owner of the “X” platform (formerly known as Twitter), said his team will do “whatever it takes” to support the free speech of its users.
Musk’s comments were in response to a report from the Financial Times detailing X’s defense of an Illinois student who was reportedly threatened with disciplinary action by his university over tweets he made on the platform. Musk previously promised to pay the legal fees of anyone who was professionally reprimanded for speech on his platform.
“We will do whatever it takes to support your right to free speech!” he declared on Thursday
The Financial Times reported this as the first example of X paying legal fees to support user speech, as originally promised on Aug. 5.
“If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill,” Musk said at the time. “No limit. Please let us know.”
He later noted that X’s defense of anyone disciplined would be “extremely loud.”
“And we won’t just sue, it will be extremely loud and we will go after the boards of directors of the companies too,” he added.
Musk originally purchased the platform with a promise to protect speech online.
“This is a battle for the future of civilization,” he tweeted. “If free speech is lost even in America, tyranny is all that lies ahead.”
NewsBusters reported in 2022 that Musk’s Twitter policy offered “general amnesty” to suspended accounts that did not break the law or engage in “egregious” spam.
Additionally, Musk’s pledge to pay came after MRC Vice President Dan Schneider signed a letter led by Alliance Defending Freedom, calling on Musk to allocate funds to protect individuals affected by state-sponsored censorship.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us at the CensorTrack contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
