Twitter’s new boss Elon Musk has announced he is rolling out a blanket amnesty for accounts that were permanently suspended on his recently acquired social media platform.
Earlier this week, Musk ran a poll to ask Twitter users if they’d support such an amnesty.
“Should Twitter offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?” he wrote.
More than three million users voted in the poll, with nearly three-quarters of voters, 72.4%, voting “yes,” while just 27.6% voted “no.”
After an overwhelming number of users voted in favor of the idea, Musk announced that he will begin rolling out the amnesty next week.
He revealed that Twitter will begin unbanning accounts en masse, except for those who broke the law or engaged in excessive spam.
“The people have spoken,” Musk wrote after the poll concluded.
“Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.”
The people have spoken.
Amnesty begins next week.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2022
Musk has already unbanned a number of popular accounts that were permanently suspended before he took over as “Chief Twit.”
Before the poll ended, Musk seemed to indicate that in effect, the platform would significantly curtail content moderation to target illegal content and increase transparency.
“Please limit content moderation to illegal content (or, at most, a narrow interpretation of moderation under Section 230) and give users the tools that enable the freedom to choose what content they see,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton replied to the poll.
“That’s the general idea,” Musk replied.
That’s the general idea
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2022
“[W]hatever it decides to do, twitter should be clear and consistent about it’s rules and penalties for breaking them, enforcement should be unbiased, and the mechanisms of enforcement shouldn’t be easily abused by people who have an agenda,” Billy Markus, the creator of DogeCoin, replied to the poll.
Musk agreed with Markus’s suggestion, replying with the “100” and “bullseye” emojis.
In a separate tweet, Musk indicated that Twitter’s old policies and enforcement methods were dishonest.
“The more I learn, the worse it gets,” Musk said.
“The world should know the truth of what has been happening at Twitter.
“Transparency will earn the trust of the people.”
The more I learn, the worse it gets. The world should know the truth of what has been happening at Twitter.
Transparency will earn the trust of the people.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2022
Twitter’s blanket amnesty policy is Musk’s latest move in his effort to restore free speech on the social media giant.
Under his leadership, Twitter has already restored the accounts of several high-profile conservative and right-leaning influencers.
The list includes Christian satire site The Babylon Bee; renowned clinical psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson; conservative undercover investigative journalism outfit Project Veritas; and President Donald Trump.
As Slay News reported, Musk announced earlier this week that he plans to publish all of Twitter’s internal discussions regarding the company’s decision to block the Hunter Biden laptop story in the run-up to the 2020 election.
“This is necessary to restore public trust,” he said of the move.
