‘I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.’ Elon Musk clarifies what he means by free speech on Twitter

Elon Musk’s claim that Twitter will now be a space where 'free speech' will be allowed has sent the social media in a tizzy. As the tech giant took over the platform in a $44 billion deal, speculations are rife that if Musk’s wishes come to pass, it would hinder healthy conversations on the site and may cause misinformation and trolling to increase.

As people express their concern over the fact that Twitter may henceforth be an unmoderated platform, Musk offered a clarification on what he means by free speech. In a tweet on Wednesday, the industrialist said, “By ‘free speech’, I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law. If people want less free speech, they will ask the government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.”
Musk’s clarification came after he faced a lot of backlash about his ‘free speech’ comment, and as soon as he took over the social media platform, the hashtag #LeavingTwitter began to trend. In a bid to retaliate, Tesla CEO on Tuesday tweeted, “The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all.”
Musk has been very clear about his stance on free speech as soon as he took over the social media platform and bought 100 % of its stake. "I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech means," he said in a tweet.

He also issued a statement that said that free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.
“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans ... Twitter has tremendous potential -- I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it," his statement read.