Twitter revealed in a securities filing Thursday that Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter for more than $43 billion. He explained the unsolicited bid saying that “free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” and that he now realizes “the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form.”

His main concern appears to be with Twitter’s content moderation policies. In March he tweeted a poll asking users whether the site adhered to the principle of free speech. “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy,” he said. “What should be done?”

Some of what Musk wants to do could be good for social media. He said he wanted to open up the “black box” of artificial intelligence technology driving Twitter’s feed so that people would have more transparency about why some tweets might go viral and others might disappear.

Most of the motives behind this move, however, seem to be flying in the face of the regulatory environment. In the UK, a new online safety bill will require the platforms to monitor their content closely for harms such as pile-ons. Even if Twitter is under private ownership, it will not be able to get around legislators who want to make the internet a safer place.

More transparency is always a good thing but imagining Musk, the world most famous troll who believes there should be no infringement or accountability on what people say online at the helm of one of the most influential social media platforms is a scary thought. For hundreds of years most people got their news from a newspaper or major TV network. All of them employed editors. Was this an infringement on free speech?

There is way too much nonsense and name-calling already in social media. Having Musk in control the platform that Trump dominated for years feels like a move in the wrong direction.

Twitter shares closed at $45.08, down just under 2%, well below Musk’s offer of $54.20 per share.