© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk’s twitter account is seen on a smartphone in front of the Twitter logo in this photo illustration taken, April 15, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:) founder Jeff Bezos has asked in a post on Twitter (NYSE:) if Elon Musk’s $44 billion cash deal to buy Twitter gives China “a bit of leverage over the town square”.
Twitter is blocked in China, where Musk, the world’s richest person, has key business interests.
Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist and has criticised Twitter’s content moderation policy, reached a deal on Monday to buy the social media platform.
Political activists expect that Musk’s ownership of Twitter will mean less moderation and reinstatement of banned individuals including former U.S. President Donald Trump.
There are also questions on what the deal will mean for Twitter’s China content policy as Musk’s Tesla (NASDAQ:) relies heavily on China for production and vehicle sales.
“Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square?” Bezos tweeted late on Monday.
“My own answer to this question is probably not. The more likely outcome in this regard is complexity in China for Tesla, rather than censorship at Twitter,” he later tweeted.
Musk said in a tweet on Monday: “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.”
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