After Elon Musk purchased Twitter and renamed it X, he became a vociferous voice for the First Amendment and a “free speech absolutist.”
He quickly dialed back moderation on the popular social media platform, allowing all kinds of content to flourish, some of it hateful, some of it controversial, some of it misinformation, but all of it largely unfettered.
Pavel Durov – CEO and founder of the popular messaging app Telegram has just been arrested by French police at Le Bourget airport. AFP quoted sources as saying that the 39-year-old French-Russian billionaire is expected to appear in court on August 25 and faces serious charges.
In response to the news of Pavel Durov’s arrest, CEO X Elon Musk quickly responded. Mr. Musk shared a video interview with Durov, in which he mentioned X. In the interview, the Telegram boss praised Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and emphasized that thanks to that, the social network has more freedom of speech and innovation.
When sharing this video, Mr. Musk wrote “#FreePavel”. According to French media, Durov, who has dual French and Russian citizenship, could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. Mr. Musk was shocked by this information. In a series of other posts, the billionaire repeatedly expressed his concerns. He said the arrest seriously affected freedom of speech.
