Elon Musk’s potential takeover of Twitter has not limited itself to Wall Street but also rippled through the United States’ political system. While most Republican lawmakers have welcomed the move, a set of Democrats against Big Tech have voiced their opinions against it.
The reactions have sprung from Musk’s comments about “free speech” and how censorship is the biggest problem the microblogging platform has.
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Marsha Blackburn, a Republican lawmaker and Senator from Tennessee, wrote, “This is a great day tobILL be conservative on Twitter. Congratulations, @elonmusk! Looking forward to a free-speech oriented Twitter.”
Jim Jordan, a GOP legislator from Ohio, said that Twitter was anticipating an investigation from the United States House of Representatives if it is taken over by the Republican party after the midterm elections.
“It always seems to me that they go after conservatives on these platforms–that needs to end”, Jordan said in a statement to Fox News.
How did the Democrats react?
Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, wrote in a social media post, “This deal is dangerous for our democracy.”
She added, “Billionaires like Elon Musk play by a different set of rules than everyone else, accumulating power for their own gain. We need a wealth tax and strong rules to hold Big Tech accountable.”
Chris Murphy from Connecticut said, “I do not get exercised about Elon Musk personally. He owns a bunch of businesses that, frankly, are really good for the world. But I just think in general, it’s pretty s*#*y to have a handful of billionaires having so much control over our lives, whether they be good billionaires or bad billionaires,” Wall Street Journal reported.
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Charles Booker, a state House Representative, wrote, “Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul couldn’t shut me up. Neither can Elon Musk. Still right here.”
Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the social media platform where he — the world’s richest person — promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on a wide range of issues to more than 83 million followers.