By Abubakar Yunusa
Elon Musk, the owner of X (previously known as Twitter), has pledged to fund the legal bills of users “treated unfairly” by employers over their posts on the platform.
Musk made the announcement in a tweet posted in the early hours of Sunday.
The billionaire entrepreneur said there would be “no limit” to the financial assistance he would provide to users targeted as a result of their posts and likes.
“If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill. No limit,” he tweeted.
Musk’s offer of assistance has been met with mixed reactions.
Some have praised the move as a way to protect free speech on X, while others have described it as an avenue to shield users from the consequences of their actions.
On Saturday, Bosun Tijani, a ministerial nominee from Ogun state, was grilled by senators over controversial comments he made on Twitter in the past.
In one tweet, Tijani called the senators “morons” while in another, he said “Nigeria is a bloody expensive tag”.
Tijani, who had faced criticised from members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), apologised for his tweets during the ministerial screening.
Although Musk is pledging financial support for X users who find themselves in troubled waters with employers, TheCable had reported that former X employees in Africa are yet to receive their severance pay despite being laid off more than seven months ago.
In 2022 when Musk acquired the microblogging platform, he carried out a series of layoffs which affected thousands of workers.
In November 2022, he laid off employees in Africa — just days after the company opened a physical office in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
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