Article from BBC
Elon Musk has reached a deal to buy Twitter with a promise to reduce censorship on the platform, raising questions about what his approach means for the "digital town square."
Human rights groups have raised concerns that the lack of moderation could lead to a rise in hate speech.
Many Twitter users are also wondering if this means accounts suspended by the company will be allowed to return.
The most high-profile person to be suspended was Donald Trump.
After news of the deal was announced, human rights groups raised concerns about hate speech on Twitter and the power it would give Mr. Musk, who is a "free speech absolutist."
He has been vocal in his criticism of the platform's content moderation policies, arguing that Twitter should be a true forum for free speech.
In a statement after reaching the agreement, he described free speech as "the cornerstone of a functioning democracy."
In a tweet, Amnesty International said: "We are concerned about any steps Twitter may take to erode enforcement of policies and mechanisms designed to protect users."
"The last thing we need is a Twitter that willfully turns a blind eye to violent and abusive speech against users, especially those disproportionately affected, including women, non-binary people, and others."
Twitter did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment on the concerns raised.
Will Trump return?
Donald Trump's account was permanently closed last year in the wake of the January 6 riots at the Capitol building in Washington.
But even if his Twitter ban is lifted, Trump says he has no plans to return to Twitter, instead opting to use his own platform, Truth Social.
"I'm not going to Twitter, I'm going to stick to the Truth," Trump told Fox News.
He added that he believed Musk, whom he called a "good man," would "make improvements" to the platform.
Trump's representatives did not respond positively to the BBC's request for comment on the recent changes.
Ming-Chi Kuo, a technology analyst at investment management firm TF International Securities, told the BBC that Mr Trump may decide to return to the platform if he runs in the 2024 US presidential election.
"Twitter is still a better choice for him to have a voice, if Twitter is willing to restore his account," Kuo said.
"It's not easy to build a platform with more influence than Twitter ahead of the next presidential election."
Will people leave Twitter?
Musk said he hopes even his strongest critics will remain on the platform "because that's what freedom of speech is all about."
However, some users have threatened to leave Twitter, while others have already left.
British actress Jameela Jamil, best known for her role in the television series "The Good Place," said she expects the platform to "become an even more illegitimate, hateful, xenophobic, bigoted, misogynistic space."
"I wish this was my last Twitter post," Jamil told her one million followers.
Meanwhile, Caroline Orr Bueno, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland, said she will stay on the platform, where she has more than 450,000 followers, for now.
Ms. Bueno said that "we have no idea what it will look like under the leadership of Elon Musk."
"What we know is that if all the good people leave, it will get bad here much faster," she added.
Uncertain future
Twitter's 11-member board unanimously agreed to Musk's $44 billion offer.
Jack Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter and still sits on the board, said he was happy that the platform "will continue to serve public discourse," even though he doesn't believe "anyone should own or run Twitter."
"Twitter should be a public good at a protocol level, not a company," Dorsey said in a Twitter post on Tuesday.
"However, if the decision is made to take it private, Elon is the unique solution I believe in," Dorsey added. "I believe in his mission to expand the light of consciousness."
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal also addressed employees in a meeting, where he said the company's future was uncertain, according to Reuters news agency.
"Once the deal closes, we don't know which direction the platform will go," Agrawal said.