The $44 billion Twitter acquisition by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, hasn't even been finalized yet, but UK lawmakers have already sent a letter to Musk inviting him to appear in front of a parliamentary committee to discuss his plans for the social media company.
The invite was issued in an open letter on Wednesday, May 4, by Member of Parliament and Chair of Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Julian Knight.
In the letter, the UK DCMS Select Committee Member of Parliaments (MPs) expressed their interest in hearing Musk's intention to roll out verification for all users.
The letter stated that it echoes MPs' call on the government as part of proposed legislation.
MPs Seek to Discuss Balance Between Freedom of Speech and Censorship
Knight, in his letter, listed topics for discussion, including Musk's intention to roll out verification for all users, greater transparency around bots and spam accounts, and the need to balance civil liberties like freedom of expression while tackling online harms, as per CNET report.
"Our 2020 Report on Misinformation in the Covid 'Infodemic' called for greater transparency of bots and automated and spam accounts, whilst our recent Report on the UK's Online Safety Bill discussed ways to balance civil liberties like freedom of expression with the need to tackle pernicious, pervasive online child sexual exploitation and abuse," Knight stated in the letter.
We've invited @ElonMusk to discuss the future of @Twitter in Parliament.
— Culture, Media and Sport Committee (@CommonsCMS) May 4, 2022
Chair @JulianKnight15: "Appearing before the Committee will give Mr Musk an ideal opportunity to set out his proposals in more depth and we would look forward to welcoming him.”
🔎: https://t.co/HpYduMAcZY pic.twitter.com/UTU2wu1jnV
The statement suggests that the MPs are looking forwards to discussing the balance between freedom of speech and censorship on Twitter. They also want to know how Musk plans to tackle it.
The Tesla CEO previously described himself as a "free-speech absolutist," and it remains to be seen if and how that will change Twitter's moderation practices, as per Engadget report.
Musk isn't legally required to attend as the MPs letter is only an invitation. DCMS has a history of summoning CEOs who don't show up in the end. Despite this, they keep on trying to get execs to talk.
For instance, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg previously refused their requests. Zuckerberg only sent a representative to appear before the DCMS.
Twitter Might Start Charging Users from Government and Businesses
Under Musk's ownership, Twitter might start charging government and businesses to embed tweets from verified accounts.
More recently, Musk tweeted that the website will remain free for casual users. However, it might start charging business entities and government agencies.
Musk also reportedly suggested changes to Twitter Blue, the website's subscription service, to make it more appealing to paying users, according to Engadget.
In addition, he reportedly entertained the idea of securing financing for his buyout. He will implement job cuts in talks with banks.
On the other hand, critics fear that Musk's control of Twitter will result in silencing the voices of those he may disagree with, although the Tesla CEO has previously said that his main concern with the social media platform is the company's censorship of free speech. Musk was known to block his critics from his personal account.
