ACLU backs Trump's return to Twitter after Elon Musk says he'd lift ban

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is backing former President Trump's return to Twitter after Elon Musk says he'd lift the permanent ban once his takeover of the tech giant is complete. 

"You’d be hard-pressed to find a more steadfast opponent of Trump and his policies than the ACLU, but Elon Musk’s decision to re-platform President Trump is the right call," ACLU executive director Anthony D. Romero wrote in a press release on Tuesday. "When a handful of individuals possess so much power over the most important forums for political speech, they should exercise that power with restraint. If Trump violates the platform rules again, Twitter should first employ lesser penalties like removing the offending post — rather than banning a political figure."

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"Like it or not, President Trump is one of the most important political figures in this country, and the public has a strong interest in hearing his speech. Indeed, some of Trump’s most offensive tweets ended up being critical evidence in lawsuits filed against him and his administration. And we should know — we filed over 400 legal actions against him," Romero added. 

While many long suspected Trump's Twitter account would be reinstated under Musk, the Tesla billionaire made it official during a conversation with the Financial Times. 

"I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice," Musk said Tuesday. "I would reverse the permaban… I think permabans just fundamentally undermine trust in Twitter as a town square where everyone can voice their opinion."

"It was a morally bad decision, to be clear, and foolish in the extreme," he added. 

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Musk stressed that he and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey were in agreement when it comes to no longer enforcing permanent bans on the platforms and considering alternative options to problematic tweets from lowering their exposure or deleting the tweet entirely or enforcing a brief suspension of the account. 

Trump's Twitter account was permanently suspended days after Jan. 6 as he was accused of using the platform to incite the riot on Capitol Hill.

The former president previously asserted that he would not return to Twitter even if Musk lifted the ban. He has recently started posting on his own social media platform Truth Social launched earlier this year.

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Liberal critics have decried the idea of Trump returning to Twitter while conservatives have celebrated Musk's decision as aligning with free speech principles.