Democrats criticize Elon Musk over state of Twitter
'One human being should not be able to go into a dark room by himself and decide, "Oh, that person gets heard from, that person doesn't"'
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Capitol Hill Democrats were quick to call out new Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday for his changes to the platform after purchasing the social media company.
FOX Business’ Hillary Vaughn caught up with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and asked if Democrats were picking on Musk.
"Elon Musk is doing just fine," Warren responded after a brief laugh.
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When asked in a follow-up if users have a right to freedom of speech, even if the content is wrong or offensive, Warren deflected to Musk.
"I think that one human being should not decide how millions of people communicate with each other, and it doesn't make any difference who that human being is. One human being should not be able to go into a dark room by himself and decide, 'Oh, that person gets heard from, that person doesn't.' That's not how it should work," the Massachusetts senator said.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh / AP Newsroom)
"But those decisions are going to be made. I think they ought to be made transparently out in the open. And I think a lot of people ought to be able to have input to it. And that's not what's happening right now on Twitter," Warren added.
Warren has been a vocal critic of Musk’s Twitter purchase since April, calling the deal "dangerous for our democracy" before advocating for a wealth tax to "hold Big Tech accountable."
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Musk, for his part, has already experienced a busy week, picking a fight with Apple CEO Tim Cook and weighing in on next month’s Fed rate hike decision.
That fact wasn’t lost on other Democrats when asked about the current state of the social media site.
"This is a tough balancing act. On the one hand, I do believe in free speech," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who is the current chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed concern with content on Twitter following Elon Musk’s purchase. (Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"On the other hand, I don't believe that we should be subsidizing or encouraging disinformation and distortion. I haven't seen anything from Musk so far that gives me confidence that he understands that difference," he added.
Durbin, who is the current chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed concern with content on the site following Musk’s purchase.
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"You can certainly see that some things are way over the line, and they have to be held responsible. These websites have to be held responsible for publishing them. As I said, this is not an easy thing in a democratic society. But we know there are malicious actors at work here," he said.