Elon Musk Accuses Canadian PM Justin Trudeau Of 'Crushing Free Speech'

Billionaire Elon Musk is now targeting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government claiming it has been "crushing free speech" in the country.

The accusations from Musk came after the Canadian government made it compulsory for online streaming services to register with the government for "regulatory controls". He made the remark in response to a Twitter (now X) post by journalist Glenn Greenwald.

"The Canadian government, armed with one of the world's most repressive online censorship schemes, announces that all 'online streaming services that offer podcasts' must formally register with the government to permit regulatory controls," Greenwald posted on X.

Responding to his comments, Musk wrote: "Trudeau is trying to crush free speech in Canada. Shameful."

It needs to be noted that Musk, a self-proclaimed free speech absolutist, has often come under fire for reportedly curtailing speech.

He has done away with Twitter's independent Trust and Safety Council, laid off hundreds of employees, and reinstated banned accounts. He believes that content permitted by law can be allowed on Twitter.

A recent report even claimed that Musk has complied with more than 80% of government demands for censorship or surveillance since taking over the platform last year.

The report published by Rest of World, a technology publication, said that Twitter agreed to remove posts related to a BBC documentary on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The platform has also failed to publish a transparency report since Musk's takeover.

It went on to add that a significant portion of requests to block or restrict content on the platform came from countries like India, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

It also needs to be noted that Turkey banned Twitter for two weeks in 2014 for refusing to remove a post accusing a former government official of corruption. The employee, who had refused to comply with the Turkish government, was the first one to be fired by Musk in 2022, the report added.

Musk reinstated former US President Donald Trump's account soon after taking control of Twitter. He also reinstated rapper Kanye West's account, all in the name of free speech. West was banned from Twitter for posting anti-Semitic tweets. Twitter had to ban West again after the latter posted anti-Semitic tweets soon after his account was reinstated.

Musk may have made tall claims when he decided to take over Twitter, but that does not seem to be happening in reality. It now remains to be seen how long he can continue to "defend" absolute free speech.