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 American 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 supports American top companies hiring foreign tech workers, which angered conservatives on X, who believe that hiring conditions in the U.S. are becoming increasingly unfavorable for native citizens. Subsequently, several conservatives accused Musk's social media platform X of censorship, claiming that the platform had removed advanced features from accounts that criticized Musk's stance in the H1B visa debate.
“It’s easy to respect free speech when we agree with the speech, and it’s hard when we think the speech is terrible,” Vitalik said. “But regardless, the reasons to respect free speech are the same as ever: a ban controlled by one group today will be controlled by another group tomorrow.” He warned Musk to be more mindful of his tone and to ensure that his power on X benefits humanity.
“The role of leaders in setting the tone is very important, for both great good and great evil,” Buterin added.
Buterin stated that the “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 descend into division or a single culture (the winner will be the one wielding the biggest hammer, not the one with the best arguments), or it will descend into a continuous war among everyone.”