Elon Musk said Tuesday that if his $44 billion offer to buy Twitter succeeds, the ban on former President Donald Trump will be lifted.
Why Did Musk Say That He Will Reverse Twitter's Ban on Trump?
According to CNET, Musk labeled Twitter's banning of Trump's Twitter account a "morally bad decision" during a Financial Times conference.
Musk said that while temporary suspensions made sense, permanent bans would "fundamentally undermine trust in Twitter as a town square where everyone can voice their opinion." However, if there are any tweets that are incorrect or harmful, he clarified that they should be removed or hidden.
Supporting Musk's statement, Twitter Co-Founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey said in a tweet on Tuesday that "generally permanent bans are a failure of ours and don't work."
I do agree. There are exceptions (CSE, illegal behaviour, spam or network manipulation, etc), but generally permanent bans are a failure of ours and don't work, which I wrote about here after the event (and called for a resilient social media protocol): https://t.co/fQ9KnrCQGX
— jack (@jack) May 10, 2022
Musk has already stated before that he disagrees with the way the social media platform is being operated.
He indicated that the company is extremely aggressive in regulating its platform to remove hate speech and harassment.
Read More: UK Parliament Invites Elon Musk to Discuss Twitter Acquisition
When Did Trump Get Banned on Twitter?
As previously reported, two days after the devastating strike on the U.S. Capitol, Twitter permanently banned Trump on Jan. 8, citing the risk of further carnage if the then-president was allowed to remain on the social media network. Other services, such as Facebook and YouTube, have also removed Trump from their platforms.
District Judge Dismissed Donald Trump's Case Against Twitter
Our previous report noted that in July 2021, Trump and five others filed a class action lawsuit against Twitter, alleging that the social media platform "censored" them.
According to Trump's lawsuit, Twitter, as well as Facebook and Google, which he also sued, are "government actors" that must follow the First Amendment's restriction on limiting free speech.
The idea was rejected by U.S. District Judge James Donato, with the court saying that the Trump case "does not plausibly allege that Twitter acted as a government entity when it closed plaintiffs' accounts."
While the order allows for an appeal, it is extremely critical of the lawsuit's claims, hinting that any altered version will face a long road ahead. Trump claims that Twitter violated the First Amendment and that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is unconstitutional.
Just a quick FYI, the First Amendment can only be invoked against a government entity.
If Trump's Ban Is Lifted, Would He Join Twitter?
The Guardian reported that Trump has declared openly that even if he were allowed to return to Twitter, he would prefer to use the Truth Social network, which he founded himself.
However, it should be noted that the former president did not post anything on the site until May, roughly two and a half months after it was launched.
Because of this, many of Trump's political opponents believe he would not turn down the chance to broadcast to a far wider audience on Twitter due to the perception that a comeback may provide Trump with a bigger platform to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Related Article: Trump's Truth Social App Suddenly Became Most Downloaded on App Store
