Tesla CEO Elon Musk said today that he intends to lift the ban on former US President Donald Trump's Twitter account, speaking at a Financial Times conference on the future of the automotive industry.
Musk, who claims to be a "proponent of absolute freedom of expression," recently signed a $ 44 billion Twitter deal.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Musk.
The ban on Trump's Twitter account, which had more than 88 million followers, silenced the former US president's main means of expression shortly before the end of his term in the White House. The "blockade" came after years of debate over whether social media companies should monitor the accounts of powerful world leaders and intervene where appropriate.
Trump was permanently banned from Twitter shortly after the January 6 riots in the Capitol. Twitter cited "the risk of further incitement to violence" for its decision.
The decision strengthened Trump's views among his supporters, Musk said, calling the ban "morally wrong and completely foolish."
For his part, Donald Trump had told Fox News that he would not return to Twitter even if Musk bought the platform and restored his account, stressing that he would use his own app called Truth Social. Although it was released in the Apple App Store in late February, it initially proved problematic until recently it began allowing more users to sign up.
There was no immediate comment on Musk's remarks by a spokesman for Donald Trump.
Source: RES-EAP