Any reason will do. But don't BS about it. The idea that the left cared about protecting free speech/expression is laughable.
No, they
do care about free speech - just not hate speech and dangerous lies, which is perfectly reasonable. Free speech has always had limits.
The only problem is, who gets to decide which speech crosses the line? Twitter
permanently banned Trump on the basis that he was spreading lies about the 2020 election being 'stolen' by Biden, and that this was inciting violence - ie. the equivalent of yelling 'fire' in a crowded theater. They had a point. But they took it too far. Here are the two tweets that Twitter decided warranted a permanent ban:-
“The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”
“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”
74,223,975 people voted for Trump, so technically his assertion that it was 75,000,000 is a 'lie' - but should he have been banned for rounding up instead of down? It actually rates as one of the truest things Trump has ever said! The second tweet is completely innocuous.
Now of course Twitter could ban anyone if it suited them. But there was huge pressure from liberals to ban Trump, even before the insurrection. IMO that was counterproductive. He was President, and we had a right to hear what he had to say no matter how upsetting it might be. The correct way to counter bad speech is with good speech, not muzzling those who say things you don't like. Only under exceptional circumstances should a political body put pressure on a private business to suppress speech from opposing voices. The two tweets above do not meet that criteria.
I said at the time that trying to muzzle Trump was a bad idea that would blow back in our faces, and I was right. Mind you some people think it was good because it goaded Musk into buying Twitter, which they are hoping will seriously damage him. It certainly has given them plenty of ammunition. Nevertheless it doesn't change the fact that Twitter bowed to political pressure from the left in permanently banning Trump, and Musk was right to unban him after a poll of Twitter users supported it.