Billionaire Elon Musk has been under scrutiny by President Joe Biden’s administration since his acquisition of the social media platform Twitter, now known as X.
The billionaire has criticized the Democratic party and unveiled instances of left-wing censorship, even implicating President Biden. Investigations into Musk were encouraged by the president shortly after Musk assumed control of X in October.
Musk now owns or leads X, Tesla and SpaceX, all of which have been subjected to investigations by the Biden administration following his acquisition of the social media platform.
Musk shared on X in May 2022, during the platform’s acquisition phase, “In the past, I voted Democrat because they were (mostly) the kindness party. But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican. Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold.”
In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party.
But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican.
Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold … 🍿
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2022
Shortly after Musk’s acquisition of X, Biden suggested that Musk’s interactions with foreign governments should be examined. In November, Biden remarked, “I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at, whether or not he is doing anything inappropriate, I’m not suggesting that. I’m suggesting that it’s worth being looked at. That’s all I’ll say.”
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has looked into the company’s purported failure to comply with a 2022 administrative order concerning privacy. Depositions revealed “a chaotic environment at the company that raised serious questions about whether and how Musk and other leaders were ensuring X Corp.’s compliance,” as stated in a Department of Justice filing in September.
This breach might result in fines for the company, as reported by The Washington Post.
The FTC has sent out more than 350 requests for information from X since Musk’s acquisition. This includes inquiries into the platform’s interactions with journalists, as highlighted by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) in July. Musk allowed journalists to publish sets of internal documents from X predating his ownership, known as the “Twitter Files.” These documents revealed that Biden’s campaign staff had identified posts regarding his son Hunter for the company to censor.
Prior to Musk’s acquisition, X enforced censorship on the Hunter Biden laptop story that was published by the New York Post a month before the 2020 election. This action restricted people from sharing the story’s link, both in public and private interactions.
Musk was recently questioned on a podcast about whether the Biden administration is targeting him. Musk responded, “I don’t think the whole administration has it out for me. But I think there are probably aspects of the administration or aspects of interests aligned with President Biden who probably do not wish good things for me.”
