Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged Elon Musk to strike a balance between protecting free expression and fighting hate speech after weeks of controversy over anti-Semitic content on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Key points:
- The meeting between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Musk was broadcast live on X
- Earlier this month, Mr Musk attacked the Anti-Defamation League, accusing it of causing a fall in revenue at X
- Mr Netanyahu urged Mr Musk to “find within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to … stop anti-Semitism”
Earlier this month, Mr Musk attacked the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), accusing the non-profit organisation that works to fight anti-Semitism of causing a 60 per cent decrease in US advertising revenue at X without providing evidence.
Mr Musk previously joined a conversation on X with the hashtag #BantheADL, engaging with users who expressed white supremacist views, and asking followers whether he should survey users about banning the ADL.
“I hope you find within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to not only stop anti-Semitism … but any collective hatred of a people,” Mr Netanyahu said during the meeting that was broadcast live on X on Monday from Tesla’s factory in California.
“I know you’re committed to that … but I encourage and urge you to find a balance,” Mr Netanyahu said.
Mr Musk responded by saying he was against anti-Semitism and against anything that “promotes hate and conflict”, repeating his previous statements that X would not promote hate speech.
Mr Musk has said X should be a platform for people to post diverse viewpoints, but the company will limit the distribution of certain posts that may violate its policies, calling the approach “freedom of speech, not reach”.
The billionaire, who also runs Tesla and SpaceX, noted that he received more pushback from Tesla employees about the meeting with Mr Netanyahu than “anything else I’ve ever done”.
Mr Netanyahu and his nationalist-religious coalition are trying to limit some of the Israeli Supreme Court’s powers, arguing it is necessary to prevent political overreach by unelected judges.
Opponents say the changes could encourage corruption and abuses of power by removing effective oversight, and the issue has split Israeli society and raised concerns about Israel’s democratic health.
About 200 people protesting against the judicial overhaul gathered outside Tesla’s California factory, where the event was held.
AI a ‘blessing and a curse’
Mr Musk and Mr Netanyahu also discussed how to harness the benefits of artificial intelligence while limiting the risks to society, a concern Mr Musk and others in the tech industry have raised in recent months.
“We stand today at a juncture for all humanity, where we have to choose between a blessing and a curse,” Mr Netanyahu said, adding that AI could advance medicine but lead to risks such as disrupting democracy.
Israel is considered a world leader in AI, thanks to burgeoning computing and robotics industries that draw on talent developed in the technologically advanced conscript military.
Foreign investment in Israeli tech startups has plunged in the past year, partly due to a global slowdown and exacerbated by investor fears that the push to trim the nation’s Supreme Court powers would remove a key check and balance.
With foreign flows down sharply, the shekel has weakened by more than 8 per cent versus the US dollar this year.
Reuters