Associate Managing Editor, MoneyWatch Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports. — Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 2, 2022 How has Elon Musk responded? Musk has been promoting the Twitter Files to his legion of online followers, and he highlighted some of the findings as evidence that Twitter had suppressed free speech. Elon Musk, Inc. | CBS Reports 22:36 For instance, in response to Taibbi's tweet that "connected actors" reached out to Twitter to get tweets deleted, Musk wrote, "If this isn't a violation of the Constitution's First Amendment, what is?" However, as experts point out, the First Amendment protects people from government infringement on their right to free speech — it doesn't compel private companies such as Twitter to permit unfettered speech. That is why companies like Twitter, Facebook and other forums are able to enforce content standards and moderate what appears on their services. After some Twitter users pointed out to Musk that, in fact, Taibbi's tweet didn't show a First Amendment violation, Musk responded, "Twitter acting by itself to suppress free speech is not a 1st amendment violation, but acting under orders from the government to suppress free speech, with no judicial review, is." However, the Twitter Files don't appear to show that the government gave orders to Twitter — only that the company received "requests" from both parties and also at times consulted with the FBI and other agencies. Reaction to the Twitter Files The most infamous response so far has come from former Trump, who claimed the internal documents suggest that parts of the U.S. Constitution should face "termination." His comments, made on his conservative social media platform Truth Social, were immediately condemned by Democrats, while some Republicans also criticized his remarks. Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, on the other hand, wrote in a blog post that the Twitter Files show "no ill intent or hidden agendas." He added, "Everyone acted according to the best information we had at the time." Others say the Twitter Files haven't lived up to the hype, and that it's also unclear whether some context has been omitted or overlooked. For instance, some left-wing accounts have also been banned by Twitter, but the Twitter Files released to date haven't addressed the discussion or decision-making around those steps. The Atlantic called the Twitter Files "sloppy, anecdotal, devoid of context, and, well, old news." As for their broader impact, that may be most evident in the changes made by Musk to Twitter's policies and content moderation practices. Despite his championing of "free speech," Musk has drawn a line on what is permitted on the social media site, such as his announcement that Twitter will never reinstate conspiracy theorist Alex Jones "I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame," Musk wrote about that decision. More from CBS News