I've been on the Internet literally since before there was an Internet per se (that is, on the original DOD ARPANET that became the Internet). I've been thinking about Musk's actions over the last few days. I cannot think of any instance of any Internet-related firm ever attempting a broad *** censorship of their users' *** ability to post freely available, legal information, including discussion and links to such information, except ... that in so doing, Musk joins the ranks of Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and other countries that criminalize all manner of information as part of their repressive regimes.

Musk has now bound himself to them and their philosophies, and any advertisers, firms, or other organizations doing business with him in any way, regarding any of his companies, will be doing the same by association going forward.

@lauren
The question really is, does anyone care? Russia, Iran, etc were all sanctioned for their behavior and then treated them like parishes. It's a different game now. Elon is carrying favor with the mob. Trump is going down and they are jockeying for his followers. Elon is tossing his hat in the ring.
@statmonkey Oh, I think you'll find the EU cares and can cause him pretty much endless problems. And eventually, the FTC here as well. And more.
@lauren I hope you are right. I'm looking at these people Aaron Rupar for example, and it looks like he can't wait to get back on that platform. I find that unsettling and disappointing.
@statmonkey @lauren itโ€™s disappointing but being on Twitter has probably made him a lot of money and he cares about continuing his income stream more than letting Elon monetize his content for Elonโ€™s pro-fascist purposes.