Elon Musk buys Twitter: How will the platform change?

Musk has struck a deal to buy a platform with a promise to reduce censorship, raising questions about what his approach will mean for the digital town square.

Human rights groups worry that a lack of moderation could lead to a rise in hate speech.

Many users are wondering if the accounts suspended by the company will be allowed back.

Donald Trump was suspended the most.

After the deal was announced, human rights groups raised concerns about hate speech and the power it would give Mr Musk, who is a self-proclaimed free speech absolutist.

He has been vocal in his criticism of the platform's policies on moderating content, arguing that it needs to be a genuine forum for free speech.

He described free speech as the bedrock of a functioning democracy after striking the deal.

In a thread,Amnesty International said that they were concerned with any steps that would erode the enforcement of the policies and mechanisms designed to protect users.

The last thing we need is a platform that turns a blind eye to violent and abusive speech against users, particularly those most disproportionately impacted, including women, non-binary persons, and others.

The concerns raised were not immediately responded to by Twitter.

The account of Donald Trump was terminated permanently in the wake of the riots at the Capitol building in Washington.

Even if the ban is reversed, Mr Trump will use his own platform, Truth Social.

Mr Trump told Fox News that he was not going to use social media.

He said that he believed Mr Musk would make improvements to the platform.

The representatives of Mr Trump did not respond to the request.

Mr Trump may return to the platform if he runs in the US presidential election in four years, according to a technology analyst at an investment management firm.

If Twitter is willing to restore his account, it's a better choice for him to have a voice.

It's not easy to build a platform with more influence than Twitter before a presidential election.

Mr Musk hopes that his strongest critics will stay on the platform because that is what free speech means.

Some users have threatened to leave, while others have already left.

British actress Jameela Jamil, who is best known for her role in TV series The Good Place, said she expects the platform to become even more misogynistic.

She told her one million followers that she would like this to be her last one.

Ah he got twitter. I would like this to be my what lies here as my last tweet. Just really *any* excuse to show pics of Barold. I fear this free speech bid is going to help this hell platform reach its final form of totally lawless hate, bigotry, and misogyny. Best of luck. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/fBDOuEYI3e

— Jameela Jamil 🌈 (@jameelajamil) April 25, 2022

The University of Maryland researcher, who has more than 450,000 followers, said that she will stay on the platform for now.

We don't know what it will look like under Musk's leadership.

If all the decent people leave, it will get bad here a lot faster.

For those who’ve asked: Yes, I’m staying on Twitter. There are still a lot of good people working at Twitter, and we have no idea what it will look like under Elon Musk’s ownership. What we *do* know is that if all the decent people leave, it’ll get bad here a whole lot faster.

— Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D (@RVAwonk) April 25, 2022

Dan Ives, an analyst at investment firm Wedbush Securities, told the BBC that he expects most users to take a wait-and-see approach.

Mr Ives said it was about courting new users and stopping defectors from the platform.

The board unanimously agreed to Mr Musk's offer.

Even though he doesn't believe anyone should own or run the platform, Jack said he was happy that it would continue to serve the public conversation.

It wants to be a public good at a protocol level, not a company, according to Mr Dorsey.

The singular solution I trust the most is the one that isSolving for the problem of it being a company.

The future of the company is uncertain, according to Parag Agrawal, the chief executive of the micro-messaging service.

We don't know which direction the platform will go once the deal closes, according to Mr. Agrawal.

On Monday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that US President Joe Biden has been concerned about the power of large social media platforms.

Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren said the deal was dangerous for our democracy, while pushing for a wealth tax and strong rules to hold Big Tech accountable.

Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn welcomed the agreement as an encouraging day for freedom of speech.