Twitter CEO Elon Musk recently expressed his thoughts on “The Twitter Files” – a series of articles and reports delving into the inner workings of the social media giant. In a tweet shared by left-wing journalist and author Glenn Greenwald, Musk argued that censorship is not exclusive to Twitter but is in fact pervasive among many major tech corporations, including Google.

He noted, “Most people don’t appreciate the significance of the point Matt was making: *Every* social media company is engaged in heavy censorship, with significant involvement of and, at times, explicit direction of the government. Google frequently makes links disappear, for example.”

Greenwald responded to this statement by further elucidating how government authorities have exerted immense pressure on Big Tech companies to censor their users more aggressively. He remarked, “When Dems controlled both houses of Congress and the WH (and Exec Branch), they repeatedly summoned Big Tech CEOs and openly and explicitly threatened them: if you don’t *censor more*, you will be punished.” Musk promptly agreed with him, simply responding “Exactly.”

These comments come in light of recent findings from journalist Matt Taibbi which depict an alarming level of influence exerted by governmental agencies over Twitter’s operations. According to Taibbi, not only did organizations such as the State Department, Department of Defense, and Central Intelligence Agency contact Twitter about foreign propaganda on the platform, but FBI agent Elvis Chan also asked Twitter executives if he could invite an Other Government Agency (OGA) to an upcoming conference.

Internal emails showed that this request was related to an employee who had previously worked for the CIA. It appears as though interactions between members of law enforcement and Twitter have been ongoing as it was discovered that FBI officials assisted in putting the company in contact with local law enforcement concerning potential issues – even prompting ex-FBI lawyer Jim Baker to pose questions about these events via email: “Odd that they are searching for violations of our policies.”

Given such revelations about governmental influence over Big Tech’s censorship measures, it is clear why Elon Musk voiced his opinion on this matter. Moreover, his remarks accurately portray how widespread censorship has become – especially when we consider how even Google has become immersed within its grasp – thus suggesting why citizens should remain aware about what information is being shared online.