"The worst governments are already going to suppress speech," said David Kaye, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine and the former free speech watchdog for the United Nations between 2014 and 2020.
The free speech experts who spoke to NBC News on Friday said Twitter's actions could invite international attempts to manipulate Musk.
Would some head of state say, 'Hey, can you do this for my country and prevent public reporting?'
Kaye, the former U.N. free speech watchdog, said Musk's behavior reminded him in part of authoritarian leaders who enforce rules against challenging the government or criticizing powerful figures, such as royal family members or regime allies.
Musk can talk about standing for free speech all he wants, but this should make it clear to everyone that what he’s doing is quite the opposite.