New Twitter CEO Elon Musk says before any banned or suspended accounts are reinstated, he will form a moderation council of “widely diverse viewpoints.”
“Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes,” Musk wrote on Twitter.
Twitter users hope Musk will allow for more free speech on the platform and fewer arbitrary bans, like bans on Dr. Peter McCullough, who frequently shares studies critical of the COVID-19 vaccines.
On Thursday, Musk tweeted a message to advertisers explaining he bought Twitter to support a “common digital town square.”
In the meantime, on Friday, Musk was alerted to proposed censorship Bill C-11 by Canada Proud.
“Hey (Elon Musk), now that you own Twitter, will you help fight back against Trudeau’s online censorship bill C-1,” the group asked.
Musk, who officially became the owner of Twitter on Thursday, responded, “First I’ve heard.”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
Subsequently, Rumble Video chimed in. Rumble was founded in Canada by Chris Pavlovski, but it moved its headquarters out of Canada partly because it feared censorship from the Trudeau Liberals.
“This bill is very bad. It’s one of the motivations for why we chose to move from Canada to the US,” Rumble’s account stated.
The Liberals tabled Bill C-11 in February to make streaming platforms promote and invest in Canadian content like traditional broadcasters do. As well, the bill would give the CRTC power to regulate online platforms.
The government insists Bill C-11 is designed to bolster the creation of Canadian content. Yet experts warn the proposed bill’s ambiguous language could result in regulating user-generated content. And CRTC chair Ian Scott said in May that the bill would cover user-generated content.
Under C-11, search engines like Google would also be required to boost news organizations that promote “racialized communities, cultural and linguistic minorities, LGBTQ2+ communities, and persons with disabilities.”
