Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted Thursday that he would be granting “general amnesty” to suspended accounts beginning next week after he issued a poll over whether the social media platform should restore impacted accounts.
“Should Twitter offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?” Musk asked in the Twitter poll, which allows any users on the website to offer their input.
The final results of the poll showed 72% of users voted in favor of amnesty and gained responses from more than 3 million accounts.
GRASSLEY DEMANDS ELON MUSK ‘IMMEDIATELY’ FIX TWITTER SECURITY FAILURES
The people have spoken.
Amnesty begins next week.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2022
“The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Musk said, using a Latin phrase meaning “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
Musk’s decision comes after he polled users on whether to reinstate former President Donald Trump, who had been banned from the platform after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Trump’s account has been reinstated, but the former president has opted to continue posting on his alternative platform, Truth Social.
Before taking over Twitter in a $44 billion acquisition late last month, Musk promised to allow all speech permissible by law on the platform. Just last week, he said Twitter had adopted a new policy of “freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach.”
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The return of suspended accounts coincides with media reports about heightened concerns with content moderation on the platform, coupled with Musk’s mass layoffs at the San Francisco-based company earlier this month.
This week, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to the “Chief Twit” asking that he address allegations voiced by former Twitter head of security Peiter Zatko about employees having direct access to user data without proper protections. Grassley and other lawmakers inquired about the data being used by foreign agents for nefarious purposes.
