Elon Musk, Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Meet to Discuss Twitter Policies

On January 27th, 2023, billionaire Elon Musk met with United States Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and House Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries. Elon Musk revealed the meeting on his Twitter account, which he owns.

According to Musk, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss how to “ensure” that the social network is fair to both Republicans and Democrats. McCarthy also told reporters that the meeting was to congratulate Musk on his birthday.

This meeting comes a month before a congressional committee holds a hearing focusing on Twitter’s handling of a New York Post report on Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son. Several former Twitter employees have been called to testify during this hearing.

Twitter’s decision to restrict the dissemination of the Post’s report during the 2020 election period received criticism from Republican party and conservative figures. In early December, Musk echoed tweets with alleged internal emails showing how the company handled the situation. An independent journalist also revealed internal documents indicating Twitter removed links to the report from tweets and direct messages, with employees relying on the company’s policy on pirated materials.

This story has sparked debate about the power of technology companies to censor information, as well as about the right to freedom of the press.