Elon Musk has revealed that his $44 billion purchase of Twitter is "temporarily on hold". The 50-year-old billionaire shared the announcement with his 92.7 million Twitter followers on Friday, while sharing a link to a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-estimates-spam-fake-accounts-represent-less-than-5-users-filing-2022-05-02/">Reuters</a> article. In his tweet, the Tesla CEO writes: "Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users". He then attached a link to the Reuters article, titled: "Twitter estimates spam, fake accounts comprise less than 5% of users -filing". [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1525049369552048129]] The article in question was published back on May 2 and states that Twitter has reported in a filing that fewer than 5% of its users are "false or spam accounts". Twitter officials added that within the first quarter of the year, 229 million users were served advertising. Musk has repeatedly stated his intention to tackle the number of spam/bot profiles on the social media platform if his purchase of Twitter is successful. <img class="size-large wp-image-1263154124" src="https://img.vt.co/2022/05/TrumpMusk2-1024x534.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="534" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: PA Images / Alamy.]] Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car summit on Tuesday, Musk shared his thoughts on "permanent bans", stating that both he and Twitter co-founder and CEO Jake Dorsey agree that they should be "extremely rare" and "reserved for accounts that are bots or scam accounts". Additionally, in an <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/elon-musk-to-acquire-twitter-301532245.html">official statement</a> after announcing his intentions at the historic acquisition, the billionaire maintained: "I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans." As well as tackling spam accounts, the SpaceX founder has also won favor with his support of free speech on the platform. "Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk said in his statement. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519036983137509376]] In a tweet earlier this month, Musk clarified his thoughts on free speech, writing: "By 'free speech', I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law. "If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people." With an estimated net worth of $255.1 billion, Musk is currently the richest man in the world, per <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/?sh=7e677c937999" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes</a> - although, much of his worth is invested in stocks and businesses. <h6>Featured image credit: DPA picture alliance / Alamy</h6>

Elon Musk says $44 billion Twitter deal is currently 'on hold'

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