In a scathing attack on the Canadian Prime Minister, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, it was alleged that the government is ‘crushing free speech’ in the country. His remark came in the wake of a recent order from the Canadian government which makes it compulsory for online streaming services to register with the government for ‘for regulatory controls formally.’
The move is widely seen as an attempt by the government to curb the growing popularity of ‘fake news’ and unsavory content on Twitter. However, it has also sparked a debate over the balance between protecting freedom of expression and maintaining social order.
It is not the first time that the Trudeau government has been accused of acting against free speech. In February 2022, the Canadian PM invoked emergency powers to crush trucker protests opposing vaccine mandates. He faced widespread criticism for his move and was accused of violating the constitution.
Amid the growing tensions between the two countries, Trudeau had recently accused India of being involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. The claims were widely criticized in India and have further strained diplomatic relations between the two nations.
Since the takeover of Twitter, Musk has made several efforts to rein in fake accounts on the platform and crack down on hate speech. He had vowed to bring back Trump’s verified account on the platform and has been active in the fight against fake news on the site. He has also reportedly asked the board of Twitter to allow him to testify on data privacy and security.
However, despite his apparent desire to bring Trump back on the platform, the former president has launched his own social media network, Truth Social, which is a direct competitor to Twitter. Trump supporters and conservative lawmakers have urged Musk to get the former president back on Twitter now that he has significant control of the company.
Tech and business journalist Kara Swisher reported earlier this week that Musk owns 14.9 percent of Twitter’s shares. The stake was revealed after the company’s lackluster earnings report. The company delivered 310,000 vehicles in the quarter, which fell below expectations. The stock has fallen as much as 15 percent in the past two weeks.
Besides Twitter, Musk owns rocket maker SpaceX and brain-chip startup Neuralink. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Square Inc., a famous financial payments company. In November, he also announced his intention to sell 10 percent of his stake in Tesla Inc. The electric car maker’s shares dropped by 13 percent following the announcement. According to SEC rules, Musk’s tweets about potential alternatives to Twitter could be considered a form of market manipulation to influence the company’s share price. However, it needs to be clarified whether the SEC will enforce this accusation against him.
