Elon Musk now owns Twitter, but don’t expect him to reverse any user account bans just yet.
On Friday, Musk said he’s going to establish a “content moderation council” for Twitter that’ll presumably help him rewrite the platform’s policies, including what will be permitted.
Musk was thin on details. But in his tweet, he said the council will feature a “diverse” number of viewpoints. “No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes,” he added.
Musk also denied unbanning Kanye West from the platform amid false reports that Twitter had reactivated the rapper's account. Twitter only temporarily restricted West's account for sharing anti-Semitic content earlier this month, a policy that allows an account to be reactivated after a certain period or once the account holder deletes content that violates Twitter's policies.
Musk added: "Ye’s account was restored by Twitter before the acquisition. They did not consult with or inform me."
Musk has long said he’s buying Twitter to rein in the content moderation over the platform in an effort to prioritize free speech. This includes reversing Twitter’s permanent account ban on former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol
However, Musk’s decision to first create a content moderation council signals he’s going to take his time on crafting new policies for Twitter. On Thursday, Musk also wrote a message to advertisers that said: "Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!”
Nevertheless, big changes could still be on the horizon. On Thursday, Musk fired the company’s previous CEO Parag Agrawal and the company’s head of legal, policy, and trust, Vijaya Gadde, who reportedly played a pivotal role in banning Trump from the platform.
In addition, Bloomberg is reporting that Musk favors reversing all the permanent account bans on Twitter when months ago he previously said: “I do think that we want to be, just very reluctant to delete things. Just very cautious with permanent bans. You know, time-outs would be better than some permanent bans.”
In the meantime, Musk’s decision to establish a content moderation council is already receiving comparison to Facebook's parent Meta, which created its own “Oversight Board” to handle content policy decisions, including whether to permanently suspend Trump.
The news even prompted Meta's Oversight Board to respond. "Independent oversight of content moderation has a vital role to play in building trust in platforms and ensuring users are treated fairly," the group said in a tweet. "This is a model we have been proving since 2020. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss Twitter's plans in more detail with the company."