NEW YORK, April 25 Reuters Elon Musk clinched a deal to buy Twitter Inc for 44 billion cash on Monday in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world39;s richest person.

It is a seminal moment for the 16yearold company, which emerged as one of the world39;s most influential public squares and now faces a string of challenges.

Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, has criticized Twitter39;s moderation. He wants Twitter39;s algorithm for prioritizing tweets to be public and objects to giving too much power on the service to corporations that advertise.

Political activists expect that a Musk regime will mean less moderation and reinstatement of banned individuals including former President Donald Trump. Conservatives cheered the prospect of fewer controls while some human rights activists voiced fears of a rise in hate speech. 

Musk has also advocated userfriendly tweaks to the service, such as an edit button and defeating spam bots that send overwhelming amounts of unwanted tweets.

Discussions over the deal, which last week appeared uncertain, accelerated over the weekend after Musk wooed Twitter shareholders with financing details of his offer.

Under pressure, Twitter started negotiating with Musk to buy the company at his proposed 54.20 per share price.

Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to…