Elon Musk has struck a deal to buy Twitter with a promise to reduce censorship on the platform, raising questions about what his approach to the “digital marketplace” will mean.
Human rights groups have raised concerns that a lack of moderation could lead to a rise in hate speech.
Many Twitter users are also asking if this means accounts suspended by the company will be reinstated.
The most prominent person to be suspended was Donald Trump.
After news of the deal broke, human rights groups raised concerns about hate speech on Twitter and the power it would bestow on Mr Musk, who describes himself as a “free speech absolutist”.
He has been vocal in his criticism of the platform’s content moderation policy, arguing that Twitter needs to be a true forum for free speech.
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In a statement after the deal was closed, he described freedom of expression as “the foundation of a functioning democracy”.
In a Twitter thread, Amnesty International said: “We are concerned about any steps Twitter may take to undermine the enforcement of user protection policies and mechanisms.
“The last thing we need is a Twitter that willfully turns a blind eye to violent and offensive language directed at users, especially those most affected, including women, non-binaries and others.”
Twitter did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment on the concerns raised.
Donald Trump’s account was permanently terminated last year following the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol building in Washington.
But even if his Twitter ban is reversed, Mr Trump has no plans to return to Twitter, opting instead to use his own platform, Truth Social.
“I’m not going on Twitter, I’m going to stick to the truth,” Mr Trump told Fox News.
He added that he believes Mr Musk, whom he called a “good man”, will make “improvements” to the platform.
Representatives for Mr Trump did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.
Ming-Chi Kuo, a technology analyst at investment management firm TF International Securities, told the BBC Mr Trump may decide to return to the platform when he runs for office in the 2024 US presidential election.
“Twitter is still a better choice for him to have a voice if Twitter is willing to restore his account,” Mr. Kuo said.
“It’s not easy to build a platform with more influence than Twitter before the next presidential election.”
Mr Musk said he hoped even his toughest critics would stay on the platform “because that’s what free speech means”.
However, some users have threatened to leave Twitter, while others have already quit.
British actress Jameela Jamil, best known for her role on TV series The Good Place, said she expects the platform to “become an even more lawless, hateful, xenophobic, bigoted, misogynistic space.”
“I want this to be my… last tweet,” Ms Jamil told her one million followers.
Meanwhile, Caroline Orr Bueno, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Maryland, said she will remain on the platform, where she has more than 450,000 followers, for the time being.
Ms Bueno said: “We have no idea what it will be like under Elon Musk’s leadership”.
“What we do know is that if all the decent people leave, things will get bad here a lot quicker,” she added.
Dan Ives, an analyst at investment firm Wedbush Securities, told the BBC he expects most users to “wait and see”.
“Now it’s all about attracting new users and stopping defectors from the platform,” Mr Ives said.
Twitter’s board of 11 unanimously approved Mr Musk’s $44bn (£34.5bn) offer.
Jack Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter and is still on the board, said he’s glad the platform “will continue to serve the public conversation,” though he doesn’t believe “everyone should own or operate Twitter.”
“It wants to be a protocol-level public good, not a corporation,” Mr Dorsey said in a tweet on Tuesday.
“However, as a solution to the problem of being a corporation, Elon is the only solution that I trust,” added Mr. Dorsey. “I trust his mission to expand the light of consciousness.”
Twitter boss Parag Agrawal also addressed employees at a meeting, according to Reuters news agency, where he said the future of the company was uncertain.
“Once the deal closes, we don’t know which direction the platform will go,” Agrawal reportedly said.
On Monday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that U.S. President Joe Biden “has long had concerns about the power of large social media platforms” on whoever owns or operates Twitter.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the deal was “dangerous to our democracy” while pushing for a wealth tax and “strong rules to hold big tech accountable.”
Meanwhile, Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn hailed the deal as “an encouraging day for free speech.”
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