Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin urged Elon Musk to 'turn down the temperature' regarding his comments on the H1B visa controversy. Musk was fiercely defending the rights of immigrants holding H1B visas to work in U.S. companies. Vitalik expressed that while he admires Musk's willingness to fight for free speech, he hopes Musk will refrain from extreme rhetoric and should not 'abuse' social media censorship.
Musk publicly supported top U.S. companies hiring foreign tech workers, which sparked anger among conservatives on X, who believe that hiring conditions in the U.S. are increasingly unfavorable to native citizens. Subsequently, several conservatives accused Musk's social media platform X of censorship, claiming that the platform removed features from accounts that criticized Musk's stance in the H1B visa debate.
'It is easy to respect free speech when we agree with the speech, and it is hard when we think the speech is terrible,' Vitalik said. 'But in any case, the reasons for respecting free speech are the same as ever: today the bans are controlled by one group, and tomorrow they will be controlled by another group.' He advised Musk to be more mindful of his tone, ensuring that his power on X can benefit humanity.
'The role of leaders in setting the tone is very important, as it can be used for great good or great evil,' Buterin added.
Buterin stated that 'banhammer' (an informal term used to describe moderators or administrators deleting users who behave inappropriately) is another example of an ineffective speech control measure. 'In the end, public discourse will either fall into division, or fall into a single culture (the winner will be the one wielding the biggest hammer, not the one with the best arguments), or fall into a continuous war among everyone.'