Twitter users will now be barred from posting links to several competing social networks, announced in a statement from billionaire Elon Musk’s platform on Sunday, which are raising concerns after journalists’ accounts were suspended.
“Twitter no longer allows free promotion of certain social networks on Twitter,” the statement said, noting that Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Post and Nostr are affected, as well as “links to social network aggregators social media like linktr.ee, lnk.bio”. For example, it becomes forbidden to tweet: “Thank you for following me @ID on Instagram”.
Journalist accounts deleted
Users who go against this policy will prefer a suspension of their account: “If violations of the rule remain an isolated act or a first violation, we may take a number of measures ranging from the removal of one or more several tweets until the temporary locking of account (s), ”explains Twitter. But “any repeat offense will result in a permanent suspension”, warns the platform.
Tweets are not the only ones to be affected by this new policy, since the biography and the name of the user cannot contain a link either, under penalty of temporary or even permanent suspension.
Elon Musk, who recently bought Twitter for 44 billion dollars, wants to be a fervent defender of freedom of expression. However, in recent days he has deleted and then restored the accounts of several American journalists, CNN, New York Times and Washington Post especially. This caused concern in the European Union and the UN, and the Vice-President of the European Commission even threatened her with sanctions.