Elon Musk condemns global speech laws, calls them 'draconian'

Twitter CEO Elon Musk took a dig at England for its stringent laws on free speech as he sat down for an interview with Bill Maher on Friday. The conversation between the duo kicked off with Musk labelling the speech laws as "draconian" in various parts of the world while lauding the protections offered under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

"In many parts of the world - including parts of the world that people might think are relatively similar to the United States - the speech laws are draconian," he said, to which Maher added: "England is quite different." Refusing to drop any names, Musk said, "I won't name any country but," as the host interjected, "England - why we protecting them. They have no First Amendment. It's very easy to prove libel in England whereas here."

Musk then claimed that he loved England, but remained mum when Maher said that he "wouldn't want to say the wrong thing. Or you could be sued easier" there. Touching upon how denying the Holocaust is prohibited in countries like France, Germany, and Spain, Maher said that he found the denial downright "abhorrent," but nonetheless, it must be safeguarded in the US under the First Amendment.

Musk calls for protection of free speech 

Echoing his thoughts, the Twitter boss said, "I really can't emphasise this enough. We must protect free speech - and free speech only matters, it's only relevant, when it's someone you don't like saying something you don't like." "Because obviously free speech that you like is easy. So the thing about censorship is that, for those who would advocate it, just remember at some point that will return on you," he added, as the audience broke into applause. 

During the wide-ranging talk, Musk also expressed his concern over what he calls the "Woke Mind Virus" that has plagued the world and is "deeply undemocratic" in nature. "You can't you can't question things. Even the questioning is bad," he said, clarifying that he himself is a moderate who has "spent a massive amount of my life energy building sustainable energy," something that is "not exactly far right".