Good Morning DC,
Boris Johnon’s spokesman has told Elon Musk that Twitter must remain “responsible” under his ownership. The EU has warned Musk that Twitter will have to comply with their Digital Services Act and remove any “hate speech and harassment” from its platform and anything that the EU deems “illegal.”
Why are the No.10 and the EU getting so worked up about Twitter? From the very beginning, Elon was very specific that he supported free speech within the bounds of the law. He never hinted at turning Twitter into a terrorist or harassment playground. Yet, political actors are firing off their warnings at Elon, a private citizen, and what soon is going to be a private American company.
What makes the United States special is that, by strict rule of law, the government cannot interfere with free speech and press. This political fear-mongering against Elon and almost turning him into some irrational free speech extremists has to stop.
On Tuesday, Elon posted his statement: “By ’free speech,’ I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.” He continued, “If people want less free speech, they will ask the government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.”
Boris Johnson and the EU should butt out. And fast.
As a follow up to yesterday’s GMDC about the attempt of the Speaker of the House of Commons to summon journalist Glen Owen, over the story about Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner, I have to report that The Mail on Sunday, said no.
I am not sure if anyone is paying attention yet, but overreach when it comes to free press and speech by PM Boris Johnson is concerning, especially as he used to be a journalist. Going after The Mail on Sunday source, sending a warning to Elon is alarming.
Press freedom should not be subject to the whims of politicians, nor is it their role to censor criticism.
Your top news stories of today are below.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Today, Biden will attend the funeral of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at the Washington National Cathedral. More than 1,400 people are expected to attend, including former US Presidents, Secretaries of State, Foreign Ministers, Ambassadors, and members of the State Department at all levels of the government.
Biden, Bill Clinton, and Hillary Clinton will give tribute to Albright during the ceremony.
In the afternoon, the President and the First Lady will host the Council of Chief State School Officers’ 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year.
DIGITAL ASSETS
Buenos Aires may allow residents to pay taxes in crypto, Mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta said during a virtual presentation.
TODAY’S CRYPTO PRICES
Bitcoin (BTC):$38,905.00
Ether (ETH):$2,877.21
SOL:$99,04
LUNA: $88.73
DOGE $0.13897888
“Elon buying Twitter is a great win for free speech, and probably changes the trajectory of the world more than most people realize,” said Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Defense Secretary Austin said Ukraine will “seek to once again apply to become a member of NATO” when that becomes possible.
NATO will always stand by its principles of maintaining an open door, so I don’t want to speculate on what could come. I do believe that, you know, in the future, if the possibility exists, I think Ukraine will seek to once again apply to become a member of NATO.
Secretary Austin
The Kremlin has accused the UK of encouraging Ukraine to use British-donated weapons in strikes on Russian territory.
Russia is suspending gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria after they refused to pay in rubles.
Blinken met yesterday with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky in Washington, D.C. They discussed collaboration on defense, energy security, and human rights.
PM Boris Johnson said on Talk TV that Putin is very popular in Russia and has “massive backing” from his own people, despite the stance the West has on Ukraine.
“The Russian public overwhelmingly back Putin,” said Johnson, adding that, “therefore he has the political margin for maneuver from within Russia.”
UK’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will give a foreign policy speech today in which she will call for an increase in defense spending. She will say that NATO members should pay two percent of their GDP as a minimum.
And that’s a wrap for this Wednesday morning, April 27, 2022. Good Morning DC will be back tomorrow to bring you the latest first.
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