Sir, – Fintan O’Toole’s solution for what ails these islands is that Elon Musk be “held personally to the same standards of criminal justice” as others (“Musk is the Pablo Escobar of toxic disinformation”, Opinion & Analysis, August 13th).
Here, Fintan O’Toole recommends state-imposed criminal sanctions for Mr Musk’s speech and for Mr Musk’s permitting others to speak on Twitter (now X). But your columnist never explains what specific speech by Mr Musk is at issue, and more importantly, what specific Irish or EU law was violated by that speech.
George Orwell’s 1984 was a period piece. It was fiction describing a dystopic future. For Fintan O’Toole, and other speech monitors, 1984 is a how-to guide for running today’s society. Perhaps the greater danger lies elsewhere? – Is mise,
SETH BARRETT TILLMAN,
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Associate Professor,
School of Law and Criminology,
Maynooth University,
Co Kildare.
