Winning freedom of speech or “springboard” to tax the rich?

Depending on who you ask in Washington, DC, in commenting on the news Twitter’s board accepted Elon Musk’s $44 billion offer to buy the company and kept it private. , some say, the event marks a return to freedom of expression online, or possibly proof that billionaires like Musk pay higher taxes.

“Freedom of expression is back,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, tweeted, asking Twitter’s board to keep the documents. regarding Musk’s offer, signaling a potential investigation should Republicans regain control in the future. And ″#TaxtheRich” (let’s tax the rich), a D-Wisc rep Mark Pocan shared the tweet.

Those were two prominent themes from lawmakers on the right and left around news of the deal. The reactions highlight how both sides differ on core issues in the tech industry, highlighting why the US Congress has yet to pass legislation that could seriously affect the sector, on topics Topics include digital privacy, antitrust, and content moderation.

On the right, optimism about “free speech” on Twitter stems from Musk’s own criticisms of the platform’s methods of content moderation. Musk called Twitter a “digital town square” in a statement accompanying the news release.

At a public appearance after revealing his offer to buy the company, Musk said that he prefers “timeout mode” rather than permanent bans, which suggests there could be a child. way for former President Donald Trump to return to the platform. Originally, Twitter banned Trump from the platform after his tweets surrounding the January 6 uprising at the US Capitol last year. At the time, Twitter said it made the decision “due to the risk of further inciting violence”.

“Big Tech can’t continue to silence people – they are not and should not be the arbiter of truth,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, also a Member of the Committee Energy and House Commerce have worked on privacy and content moderation. ″Time to replace Big Tech censorship with war of ideas and I hope for a new direction of free speech at @Twitter.

“Today is a day that promotes free speech,” said Senator Marsha Blackburn, who introduced legislation to limit online platforms’ liability shields around content moderation. “I hope that Elon Musk will help curb the history of user censorship and should take a different perspective than that of the current Big Tech.”

Meanwhile, many Democratic lawmakers shared tweets that focused more on Elon Musk’s purchasing power than the potential impact on Twitter’s product.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass said: “This deal is dangerous for our democracy. Billionaires like Elon Musk play by a different set of rules from everyone else, amassing power for their own good. We need wealth taxes and strong rules to keep Big Tech accountable.”

Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman tweeted that the $44 billion deal “is less than 17% of his estimated net worth of $264.6 billion. Billionaires like Musk pay low tax rates. than firefighters, teachers and nurses. If that sounds ridiculous, that’s because it is. We need a billionaire minimum income tax.”

Once they can afford Twitter, they must be able to pay their fair share of taxes,” said Representative Katherine Clark.

And representative Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash made an official announcement: “Just to reiterate that from 2014-2018, Elon Musk paid an effective tax rate of 3.27%,” she wrote after the news of the agreement. agreement completed. “The average American working family pays a tax of 13%. It’s time to tax the wealth of this country’s billionaires.”

Meanwhile at the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki declined to comment on the specific transaction but said, “as a general matter, no matter who owns or operates Twitter, the president of the United States has long been concerned concerned about the power of the major social media platforms, the power they have over our daily lives.”

She added that President Joe Biden has long advocated reforms to hold technology platforms accountable for harm stemming from their services, including by reforming the technology liability shield under Section 230, the board. implement antitrust reforms and require transparency.