LONDON: UK’s Parliament invited Elon Musk on Wednesday to testify before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee on proposals to improve Twitter “in more depth,” but the billionaire has indicated the invitation is “premature” because the sale of the social media company has not been finalized.
In the letter addressed to the SpaceX and Tesla CEO, committee chair Julian Knight said the MPs supported Musk’s commitment to remove all spam accounts and automated bots from Twitter.
The committee is reportedly particularly interested in Musk’s proposal to roll out verification for all users.
“In particular, your intention to roll out verification for all users echoes our calls on the UK government as part of proposed legislation, which we hope will restore the UK public’s trust in digital platforms,” the Conservative MP wrote in the letter.
“I therefore wish to take this opportunity to invite you to speak before our committee and discuss your proposals in more depth.”
Musk said it was too early to give an answer to the invitation.
“I am honored and thank the Parliament for their invitation, but it would be premature at this time to accept, given that there has not yet been a shareholder vote (to approve the deal),” Musk said.
While many raised concerns about Musk’s plans to relax content rules, which they claim could lead to an increase in hate speech on the platform, others have welcomed his commitment to protect freedom of expression.
“At a time when social media companies face the prospect of tighter regulations around the world, we’re keen to learn more about how Mr. Musk will balance his clear commitment to free speech with new obligations to protect Twitter’s users from online harms,” Knight said.
In the UK, the government is keen to push through online laws, in particular the Online Safety Bill, which imposes a duty of care on platforms to remove harmful or illegal content, hence the Parliament’s interest in meeting Musk.
Among its measures is a requirement for the biggest platforms to provide users with the option to verify their identity and the choice not to interact with unverified users.
This is not the first time the UK committee has invited a tech boss to testify before parliament. In 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg declined an invitation to give evidence as part of its investigation into fake news.
