Vitalik urges Musk not to use extreme language in the H1B visa dispute: The "banhammer" strategy is not advisable

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has called on Elon Musk to "turn down the temperature" in his remarks about the H1B visa controversy. At the time, Musk was vigorously defending the rights of immigrants with H1B visas to work at American companies. Vitalik stated that while he admires Musk's willingness to fight for freedom of speech, he hopes that he will not be extreme in his statements and should not "abuse" social media censorship systems.

Musk's public support for top US companies hiring foreign tech workers has sparked outrage among conservatives on platform X, who believe that US recruitment conditions are increasingly disadvantageous for local citizens. Subsequently, several conservatives accused Musk's social media platform X of censorship, claiming that it had removed advanced features from accounts criticizing Musk's stance in the H1B visa debate.

"When we agree with a statement, it is easy to respect freedom of speech; when we think a statement is terrible, it becomes difficult," said Vitalik. "But regardless, the reason for respecting freedom of speech remains as before: today’s bans are controlled by one group; tomorrow they may be controlled by another." He warned Musk to pay more attention to his tone and ensure that his power on platform X can benefit humanity.

"The role leaders play in setting tones is very important; it can be used either greatly good or greatly evil," added Buterin.

Buterin referred to “banhammer” (an informal term used to describe moderators or administrators deleting users who behave improperly) as an example of ineffective control measures over speech. "In the end," he said, "public discourse will either fall into division or single culture (the winner will be those wielding biggest hammers rather than those with best arguments), or continuous warfare among everyone."