Musk calls activist pressure 'an attack on the First Amendment'

STORY: Musk, the world's richest person, is looking to cut around 3,700 Twitter staff, or about half the workforce, as he seeks to slash costs and impose a demanding new work ethic, according to internal plans reviewed by Reuters this week.

Speaking at an investors conference in New York on Friday, Musk called pressure from civil rights activists "an attack on the First Amendment."

It was not immediately clear who Musk was referring to as "activists."

Twitter recorded a fall in revenue in its last reported quarterly results in July, blaming Musk's $44 billion buyout proposal and a weakening digital advertising market. Surging inflation and fears of a recession have forced some advertisers to slash their budgets.

Ad sales accounted for more than 90% of Twitter's revenue in the second quarter.