Musk says Twitter will offer 'amnesty' to suspended accounts

Elon Musk said Thursday that Twitter would grant "blanket amnesty" to accounts that had been suspended from the platform starting next week. The CEO released a poll the day before asking if the platform should restore the affected accounts.

The news comes less than a week after Musk also ended former President Donald Trump's ban on the platform after he conducted a similar poll. Trump was banned after the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, but said he has no plans to return to the platform.

Musk's user survey included a caveat that suspended account holders could join the platform "provided they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spamming" . About 3.2 million users responded to the poll, which voted 72.4% in favor of amnesty.

"The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei," Musk said, using a Latin phrase that means "The voice of the people is the voice of God."

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Historically, Twitter has banned accounts that advocate hate and harassment, incite violence, or rampantly spread misinformation that could cause harm. Some high-profile people who have been banned include MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell after making a series of claims that Trump actually won the 2020 presidential election; former Trump adviser and former Breitbart executive chairman Steve Bannon after he said Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray should be beheaded; and Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes for violating the site's policy prohibiting violent extremist groups.

Musk's brief tweet leaves it unclear how Twitter will handle content moderation in the future, now that potentially more problematic voices will return to the platform. These worries have only been exacerbated by Musk's massive layoffs and general exodus of employees who would rather quit than be "hardcore".