Snowden on Musk's Twitter Acquisition: Platform Censorship Has Gone 'Too Far'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who is exiled in Russia, said on Friday that censorship on Twitter and other social media had become excessive, depriving users of the right to make their own decisions regarding content.

Snowden's comment was in response to the news SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk had bought Twitter. Musk, who has criticized Twitter for limiting freedom of expression in the past, hinted that he finalized the platform's purchase in a tweet earlier on Friday reading, "the bird is free."

"This is going to cause controversy, but platform censorship had clearly gone too far. Content moderation should be an individual decision, not a corporate prison. Let people make their own choices — and not just on Twitter," Snowden tweeted.

Musk’s purchase of Twitter announced back in April was delayed in July by legal disputes between himself and the company about the number of fake accounts on its social media platform, which Musk alleged was much higher than the company reported.

On Thursday, the billionaire shared a video on Twitter showing him moving into the company's headquarters holding a sink, indicating that he had finalized the deal.