Senate Democrats are reportedly mulling over plans to call Tesla CEO Elon Musk to testify about his buyout of Twitter.
While no official moves have been made to question the billionaire on his $44 billion purchase of the social media giant, and he isn’t even running the company yet, triggered Democrats in the U.S. Senate are certainly “thinking about” hauling him in to answer their all-important questions, according to Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
Cantwell chairs the Senate Commerce Committee which has previously questioned former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, as well as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.
“We’re thinking about it,” the Washington state Democrat told Bloomberg Thursday when asked about the possibility of Musk being called before the committee.
Other key Democrats agree that meeting with Musk is vital considering the impact the social media company has. While it could take months for the deal to be finalized, Musk has already shared his thoughts on changes and has explained his goal of restoring free speech on the platform. Republicans have celebrated the buyout while Democrats have sounded the alarm that Musk will end up lifting restrictions and allowing disinformation to run rampant.
“It’s a technology which is central to democracy and our economy and it is important for the representatives of the American people to hear what the new owners intend on using that technology to accomplish,” Senator Ed Markey, another member of the Commerce Committee, told Bloomberg in an interview.
“We have to understand the censorship or lack thereof, content moderation or not, that is going to be the policy for the new owner,” the Massachusetts Democrat added.
“In terms of what the values are that this company is going to be creating for the new Elon Musk Twitter world, I think that’s actually a necessary role for Congress to play,” Markey noted in pointing out the relevance of the Commerce Committee getting involved as it oversees matters related to the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is also of the mind to ask Musk to testify about his plans.
“There is a powerful imperative to ask him to tell Congress and the American people how he’s going to address the concerns that we’ve raised,” he said.
Commerce Committee Democrats are not the only ones having a meltdown after Musk’s move this week. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., railed against the “dangerous” deal in a tweet and then told MSNBC that there need to be “rules of the road for Big Tech.”
“Who’s going to have the power in our country? Are we going to make these decisions as a democracy, or is this going to be Elon Musk all by himself, off in a room, a bazillionaire, who just plays by his own set of rules?” she asked Wednesday on MSNBC’s “The Beat With Ari Melber.”
This deal is dangerous for our democracy. Billionaires like Elon Musk play by a different set of rules than everyone else, accumulating power for their own gain. We need a wealth tax and strong rules to hold Big Tech accountable.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) April 25, 2022
Reactions from the Senate’s leaders highlighted the stark contrast in views about Musk’s buyout, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called it “an incredible event,” but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said, “Twitter has been a dark, dark place. I hope it doesn’t get any darker.”
Senators Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer had opposite responses to Elon Musk purchasing Twitter. pic.twitter.com/xjLn4r9sBK
— CNSNews (@cnsnews) April 27, 2022
“Big Tech is an existential threat to free speech and free and fair elections in America,” Sen. Ted Cruz said on “Hannity” earlier this week. However, he noted that Musk’s purchase of Twitter “is without exaggeration the most important development for free speech in decades.”
Meanwhile, the idea of Democrats calling in the billionaire to testify went over like a lead balloon on the platform he just purchased.
lmao there it is. American political leaders are as fearful of the information space as their counterparts in countries without constitutional protections over speech, and they consistently prove the wisdom of such protections. https://t.co/4ZtjCb3bzC
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) April 28, 2022
So much for government not infringing on freedom of speech. This is going way too far.
— Razor_415 (@Michael03176254) April 28, 2022
“Subpoena the new CEO” is this fun game Congress likes to play, it’s cool you get used to it after a while. Pro forma now.
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) April 28, 2022
I would hope he tells them it is a private company and it is none of their business.
— Van Wall (@VanWall007) April 28, 2022
Why ? Calling a private business man to ask him what changes he is planning to effect in his business? Is he obligated to attend such a meeting. They are really scared, Musk is on to something
— Shado (@Shado61100904) April 29, 2022
I wouldn’t bet my political career/agenda questioning one of the most intelligent person in the world, who advocates for neutral free speech.. in public.
— Rob Aye (@ainsworth_rob) April 29, 2022
I wish they had this type of energy for billionaires that buy newspapers.
— Andres (@I_gave_you_powr) April 28, 2022
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