The U.K.’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee has invited Elon Musk to discuss his proposed purchase of Twitter.
MP Julian Knight, who chairs the cross-party parliamentary committee, has written to Musk to extend the invitation.
“My Committee has noted your proposed acquisition of Twitter and we are interested in the developments you propose,” Knight writes. “In particular, your intention to roll out verification for all users echoes our calls on the U.K. Government as part of proposed legislation, which we hope will restore the U.K. public’s trust in digital platforms.”
Knight cited a 2020 DCMS report about misinformation on COVID which “called for greater transparency of bots and automated and spam accounts” and a more recent report on the U.K.’s online Safety Bill which “discussed ways to balance civil liberties like freedom of expression with the need to tackle pernicious, pervasive online child sexual exploitation and abuse,” both of which align with claims Musk has made about how he wants to reform the social media platform.
“I therefore wish to take this opportunity to invite you to speak before our Committee and discuss your proposals in more depth,” Knight continued. “I know you have expressed your wish that critics remain on Twitter and this may present an opportunity to address any critiques in public.”
The letter was sent to Musk’s Tesla office in Palo Alto on Friday, April 29. The tech mogul, who turned up at the Met Gala in New York on Monday evening, has not yet confirmed whether he will deign to attend a DCMS committee, either virtually or in person.
