Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Elon Musk in a meeting Monday after weeks of controversy over anti-Semitic content on Musk’s social media platform X to strike a balance between protecting free speech and hate speech. Establish a balance.
Earlier this month, Musk attacked the Anti-Defamation League, accusing the nonprofit, which works to fight anti-Semitism, of essentially causing a 60% drop in US ad revenue on X. , without providing evidence.
Musk bought the platform, then known as Twitter, in October.
Musk previously joined the conversation on X with the hashtag #BantheADL, engaging with users expressing white supremacist views, and asking followers if he should consider banning the ADL. There should be a poll on the platform.
“I hope that you will find, within the limits of the First Amendment, the ability to stop not only antisemitism … but collective hatred of any people,” Netanyahu said during the meeting at Tesla’s Fremont, California. was broadcast live on X from the factory. .
“I know you are committed to this… but I encourage and urge you to find a balance,” Netanyahu said.
Musk responded by saying that he was against antisemitism and anything that “promotes hatred and conflict,” repeating his previous statements that X would not promote hate speech.
Musk has said that X should be a platform for people to post diverse viewpoints, but that the company will limit the distribution of certain posts that may violate its policies, calling that viewpoint “freedom.” “Expression, not reach.”
The billionaire, who also runs Tesla and SpaceX, noted that he received more pushback from Tesla employees about meeting with Netanyahu, “more than anything else I’ve ever done.”
Netanyahu and his nationalist religious coalition are seeking to limit some of the powers of the Israeli Supreme Court, arguing that it is necessary to prevent political overreach by unelected judges.
Opponents say the changes could encourage corruption and abuse of power by removing effective oversight, and that the issue has divided Israeli society and raised concerns about Israel’s democratic health.
About 200 people protesting the judicial change gathered outside Tesla’s California factory, where the event was held.
Musk and Netanyahu also discussed how to harness the benefits of rapid advances in artificial intelligence, while limiting the risks to society that Musk and others in the tech industry have worried about in recent months. expressed.
“We stand today at a turning point for all of humanity, where we have to choose between a blessing and a curse,” Netanyahu said, adding that AI may advance medicine but democracy. I can cause risks such as disruption.
Israel is considered a world leader in AI, thanks to the growth of the computing and robotics industries that attract the talent produced in the technologically advanced conscript army.
Foreign investment in Israeli tech startups has fallen in the past year, partly due to the global slowdown and investors’ fears that pressure to curtail the Supreme Court’s powers is an important check and balance. will eliminate
With foreign flows falling sharply, the shekel has weakened more than 8% against the dollar this year.
(tag to translate)Elon Musk
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