Musk, owner of Tesla and SpaceX, clinched the $44 billion
cash deal on Monday.
Conservatives have accused the social media platform of bias
against right-leaning views. They cheered the prospect of fewer controls under
Musk, who has criticized Twitter's moderation.
"Free speech is making a comeback," tweeted U.S.
Representative Jim Jordan, a member of the Freedom Caucus of conservative House
Republicans.
Jordan and other Republicans have been critical of Twitter
for banning former President Donald Trump and other notable conservatives.
Trump's account, which had more than 88 million followers,
was his primary communication tool during his presidency. He repeatedly used
Twitter to claim his defeat in the November 2020 election was due to widespread
voter fraud, and he urged supporters to come to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021 and
march on the U.S. Capitol to protest the election result.
Days after the storming of the Capitol, Twitter said it was
permanently suspending Trump's account due to the risk of further incitement of
violence.
Political activists expect Trump could get his account
restored after Musk's takeover of Twitter.
But Trump, who has hinted he wants to run for president
again in 2024, said on Monday that he will not return to Twitter even if his
account is reinstated and would stay on his own social media startup, Truth
Social.
Truth Social, which launched in February, joins other newer
companies that bill themselves as champions of free speech and hope to draw
users who feel their views are suppressed on more established platforms. But so
far none have come close to matching the popularity of their mainstream
counterparts.
Senator Marsha Blackburn, another Republican, said on
Monday: "I am hopeful that Elon Musk will help rein in Big Tech's history
of censoring users that have a different viewpoint."
Musk has said Twitter's algorithm for prioritizing tweets
should be public and has described user-friendly tweaks to the service, such as
an edit button and defeating "spam bots" that send overwhelming
amounts of unwanted tweets.
"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning
democracy," he said in a statement on Monday. He also tweeted: "I
hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free
speech means."
Amid concerns from human rights activists that the deal could
lead to unfettered hate speech, Democratic lawmakers called for more
accountability.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a progressive and a critic of the
tech platforms, called the deal "dangerous for our democracy."
"Billionaires like Elon Musk play by a different set of
rules than everyone else, accumulating power for their own gain. We need a
wealth tax and strong rules to hold Big Tech accountable," she said on
Twitter.
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki declined direct comment
on Musk's deal but added: "The president has long talked about his
concerns about the power of social media platforms, including Twitter and
others, to spread misinformation."
Representative Ro Khanna said the deal was a reason to pass
a bill to protect the data of people who go online.
"We need safeguards in place that give users more
control over their data and ensure fairness and transparency," Khanna said
in a statement.