Elon Musk Promises To Help Legal Costs For Those Treated Unfairly On Platform X

Elon Musk promised to bear legal costs for anyone who has been 'treated unfairly' for liking posts on X (photo: twitter @elonmusk)

JAKARTA - Elon Musk has promised to bear legal costs for anyone who has been 'treated unfairly' by their employer for liking a post on X that used to be known as Twitter.

The billionaire said there would be no'restrictions' on how much financial legal assistance his company would provide, even though the platform is reportedly still experiencing financial difficulties.

It's not clear how affected people can apply for help or claim their money, although some have expressed interest in replying to Musk's post.

Musk took over Twitter in October and just changed his name to X as part of a plan to turn it into what he calls an 'all in one' app.

The glossy 'X' logo was installed at the platform headquarters in San Francisco before it was finally removed due to complaints from local residents.

Musk made the statement in a post - formerly known as a tweet - on Sunday 6 August which received more than 100 million views.

"If your employer is treated unfairly by your employer for posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bills," Musk said. "There are no restrictions. Please let us know."

If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill.No limit. Please let us know.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023

If you were unfairly treated by your employee due to post or unlike something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill.No limit. Please let us know.

Many people have been fired for liking or in other ways apparently supporting tweets by liking them or retweeting them, or following accounts by following.

One example is an employee of the US video game, Kara Lynne, who was fired by Limited Run Games for 'following transphobic accounts' and 'expressing the excitement of Harry Potter's game.

Lynne - whose termination was triggered by complaints from trans activist Jessica Blank - was tagged in Musk's post and she replied by asking for more information.

Another example is Sasha White, a literary assistant agent from New York, who said she was fired by The Tobias Literary Agency after retweeting comments about transgender women.

Musk has a habit of making spectacular promises that don't materialize, so he should consider this with skepticism. As Tesla's owner, he has built a reputation for optimistic launch schedules that come and go without any signs of a product, including a Cybertruck.

However, the idea of providing financial assistance to the affected people in the same mode will get appreciation from many people who have the opinion of supporting freedom of speech.

Musk has repeatedly cited the desire for free speech on this social media platform and has reactivated accounts of banned figures under old holdings.

In December, Musk reactivated his Twitter account of former US president Donald Trump, even though Trump has not used the platform yet.

The former president was banned by Twitter in early 2021 for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by a group of supporters who wanted to overthrow the results of the 2020 election.

X recently reactivated rapper and designer Kanye West about eight months after his account was suspended, according to media reports.

Last year, West, now better known as Ye, posted a picture that appeared to show self-awastika surrounding Bintang Daud, and Musk suspended the artist's account from the platform.

Musk has given a suspension to banned accounts because he envisions X.com as a 'trusted digital square' where views are 'tolerated as long as people don't violate the law or spam'.

However, Musk threatened legal action against the account owner who had tweeted things he did not agree with.

Currently, Musk is suing the British non-profit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which has claimed that hate speech has developed on the platform since he took over.

The entrepreneur has accused CCDH of generating a 'cat' research that has spent tens of millions of his company's dollars, a copy of the lawsuit shows.

Also this weekend, Musk said the over-home fight with Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg will be broadcast live on X with 'all the proceeds will be donated to charity'.

Conversations about the fight between these two figures have escalated in recent months since Zuckerberg released Threads, a competing social network very similar to X.