From: allin
Elon Musk, described as the “greatest entrepreneur this generation” [00:00:00], has been engaged in “freedom of speech wars” for two years, noting that the “price of freedom of speech is not cheap” [01:03:01]. He acquired Twitter (now X) for approximately $44 billion to support this cause [01:13:14].
Global Movement Against Free Speech
Musk expresses significant concern about a “weird movement to quell’s Free Speech” occurring “around the world” [01:26:01]. He questions why the First Amendment was a high priority, explaining that it was because people came from countries where speaking freely could lead to imprisonment or death [01:37:07]. He highlights that such situations still exist globally where criticizing the government results in imprisonment or death [02:00:01].
Musk points out that the West was traditionally seen as an exception to authoritarianism regarding free speech, but this seems to be changing [02:27:01]. Examples he provides include:
- Teenagers in Britain being imprisoned for memes or obscure social media comments [02:39:01], [02:51:01].
- A person in France (Pav) being imprisoned for comments [03:02:01].
- The situation in Brazil involving “Judge Voldemort” [03:09:01].
The Brazil Controversy
Musk explains that the concern regarding Brazil stems from Excorp (X) being “asked to do things that violated Brazilian law” [03:43:01]. He clarifies that Excorp’s stance is not to impose American laws or values on other countries, but rather that the company cannot break the laws of the host country or be silent about being asked to do so [03:54:01], [04:19:01].
Musk stresses that his actions are often misconstrued as a billionaire’s outrageous demands [04:28:01], but he aims to operate honorably and be able to explain actions “in the light of day” [05:02:01]. Discussions are ongoing with Brazilian judicial authorities to understand the situation: either X is being asked to break Brazilian law, which should not be acceptable to the Brazilian judiciary, or X is mistaken in its interpretation [05:19:01].
He expresses personal concern about the possibility of being arrested in one of these countries for allowing people to express themselves on X [05:51:01]. He notes that articles in outlets like The Guardian have called for his imprisonment based on the premise that because he bought a communication platform and allows free expression, he should be jailed [06:13:01].
Motivation for Censorship and X’s Stance
Musk believes the motivation behind attempts to quell free speech is that those “trying to push a false premise on the world” will be opposed to public dialogue if that dialogue can undermine their premise [07:09:01]. He states that if authorities “don’t like the truth,” they want to suppress it [07:31:01].
X’s policy is to adhere to the laws of each country [08:01:01]. If something is illegal in a jurisdiction (e.g., Nazi propaganda in Europe), X will take it down or suspend the account [08:12:01], [09:22:01]. However, if speech is not illegal, X will not inject itself as a censor [08:30:01]. He asks, “where does it stop and who decides?” believing such a path “leads to a bad place” [08:36:01]. He emphasizes that if a country’s people want different laws, they should change them, but otherwise, X will obey the existing laws in each jurisdiction [08:49:01]. If anyone believes X is not adhering to the law, they can file a lawsuit [09:16:01].
Musk describes other social media platforms like Threads as “the most miserable place on Earth” and “the anti-Disney” due to the constant condemnation experienced there [07:53:01].