Twitter Question's Elon Musk's Commitment To 'Free Speech' After He Bans Account That Tracked His Jet

On November 6th, new Twitter owner Elon Musk declared he was so committed to the idea of free speech on the platform that he wouldn't ban @ElonJet, a gimmick account dedicated to updating the site on the location of his private jet using publicly available flight logs. Five weeks later, @ElonJet has now been banned.

My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022

The account appears to have not strayed from its commitment of simply showing the flight logs of Musk's jet, meaning it's unclear what changed Musk's or Twitter staff's mind between November 6th and now.

Earlier this week, the account's owner, Jack Sweeney, claimed his account was shadowbanned, citing a leaked screenshot of a message from Ella Irwin, Twitter’s former trust and safety leader, instructing employees on Slack to do just that.

Screenshots show Ella Irwin VP at Twitter Trust and Safety requesting elonjet to have heavy VF (visibility filtering) pic.twitter.com/ehHJpo4zQR

— Jack Sweeney (@JxckSweeney) December 11, 2022

Musk has had a long-standing gripe with the account. He once purportedly offered to pay Sweeney to remove the account, according to The New York Times.

While users on Twitter debated whether the account was a safety risk to Musk, its banning underlines what many felt is a pattern of Musk selectively choosing to silence his critics on Twitter and how his tolerance of "free speech" extends far more generously to conservatives and those who give him praise. That the account he once singled out as an example of the kind of Musk-critical "free speech" he'd allow on Twitter is now banned did not help his case.

After the suspension of @elonjet, it turns out the Twitter rules have been updated. pic.twitter.com/H8eQxPIRUX

— peasant cat (@CitiXen) December 14, 2022

So much for free speech. Musk has killed @ElonJet, which was using public aircraft data.

I’m overwhelmingly empathetic to doxing and taking action, but there’s no valid argument this endangers anyone. pic.twitter.com/6ulHik2PfU

— Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) December 14, 2022

What I find most disturbing about Musk's Twitter takeover is his personal involvement.

The account that posted video of him being booed with Chappelle disappeared in minutes, and now ElonJet is gone even after Musk had promised he wouldn't kill it. https://t.co/q89pF6k5tL

— Shadowy Cabal Enthusiast (@TheChandlerDude) December 14, 2022

ElonJet crossposted its content to Instagram and Facebook and still exists on those platforms, so if social media users really want to know where Musk's been flying to, they can take solace in the fact that Zuck hasn't killed the account yet.