Elon Musk's proposed Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) takeover has polarized stakeholders and outsiders in equal measure. Even as the Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO's frenzied fan followers are expounding the virtues of a Musk-led Twitter, others have expressed skepticism regarding the negative implications of his free speech advocacy.
What Happened: Musk's plan to relax speech restrictions on Twitter relays a "very naïve, unserious approach" to content moderation, Jason Goldman, a member of the social media platform's founding team told Bloomberg in an interview.
The former Twitter board member also took exception to Musk's recent tweets disparaging current Twitter employees. Goldman sees the risk of these people facing abuse at the hands of Musk's legion of followers. Incidentally, in a definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC, Twitter explicitly laid a condition that Musk should refrain from passing derogatory remarks on the company or its employees.
Musk's assertion that he will work toward eliminating spambots and authenticate people on the platform is at odds with free expression, Goldman reportedly said. While calling Musk's proposed buy of Twitter "disappointing," the former Twitter executive said the platform now could do with a "great stewardship."
"What he's revealing is just how unserious a person he is about both his ideas for the product and the philosophy that underpins it," Goldman reportedly said.
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Why It's Important: Musk would really be walking a fine line, when it comes to his set task of cleaning up Twitter and making it fall in line with the principles of free speech.
Musk has made it clear that free speech should be consistent with the law.
Twitter closed Wednesday's session down 2.09% to $48.64, according to BenzingaPro data.
Related Link: Left-Leaning Group Says Apple, Google Will Need To Rein In Elon Musk-Controlled Twitter
