President Biden says Elon Musk’s relationships with other countries are “worthy of being looked at” after the mogul took over Twitter with the help of foreign investors.
Mr. Musk, who owns Tesla auto company and SpaceX, acquired the popular social media platform with some funding from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, who had invested in the social network in the past, and an investment firm tied to Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
“I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at,” Mr. Biden said at a press conference Wednesday. “Whether or not he is doing anything inappropriate, I’m not suggesting that. I’m suggesting that it is worth being looked at.”
Asked how he might investigate the situation, he said: “There’s a lot of ways.”
The remarks are likely to get brushback from conservatives who believe Mr. Musk is shaking up the platform and allowing for free expression instead of heavy content moderation.
However, Mr. Biden is under pressure to take a close look at possible foreign entanglements between Mr. Musk and his business interests.
Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, urged the Treasury Department to scrutinize the funding through its Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
“Setting aside the vast stores of data that Twitter has collected on American citizens, any potential that Twitter’s foreign ownership will result in increased censorship, misinformation, or political violence is a grave national security concern,” Mr. Murphy said. “Saudi Arabia is one of the most repressive countries in the world, with little to no tolerance for free expression.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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