Twitter will ban links to competing social networks

Facebook, Instagram, or even Mastodon… Twitter will now prohibit its users from posting links to competing social networks, at a time when Elon Musk's platform is under criticism for having suspended several journalist accounts.

"Twitter no longer allows free promotion of certain social networks on Twitter," the platform announced on Sunday, December 18.

Seven platforms are concerned: Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Post and Nostr.

As well as "link aggregators to social networks such as linktr.ee, lnk.bio", it is specified.

For example, it becomes prohibited to tweet: "Thank you for following me @Identifier on Instagram".

Highlighting his latest Instagram photo, or a Facebook post, thus exposes the Twitter user to a suspension of his account.

And if he mentions one of his other accounts in his biography or in his name, the penalty is the same, warns the network.

"Any repeat offense will result in a permanent suspension"

“If violations of the rule remain an isolated act or a first violation, we can take a number of measures ranging from the deletion of one or more tweets to the temporary locking of account (s)”, details Twitter.

But offenders are warned: "Any repeat offense will result in a permanent suspension".

These new rules are announced as many Twitter users have recently said they are considering migrating to other platforms, which most likely worries the new boss of the San Francisco-based company.

The change also aroused the misunderstanding of Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, a company he left in 2021. "Why?", He soberly tweeted.

Since its takeover by the boss of Tesla and SpaceX at the end of October, for 44 billion dollars, the moderation rules put in place on Twitter by Elon Musk, self-proclaimed defender of freedom of expression, have caused concern.

Suspension of several journalists

In recent days, he has deleted and then restored the accounts of several American journalists, CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post in particular, causing the European Union and the United Nations to react.

The Vice-President of the European Commission even threatened him with sanctions.

The multi-billionaire had first, on Wednesday, suspended @elonjet, an account that automatically reported the routes of his private jet, then the accounts of journalists who had then tweeted about the decision, accusing them of putting his family in danger.

These were reinstated on Saturday, but some said they were told to delete certain posts if they wanted to make full use of the platform.

And, on Saturday evening, the Twitter account of a Washington Post journalist, Taylor Lorenz, was in turn suspended for several hours.

“Elon Musk has suspended my Twitter account,” said the journalist, who covers the technology sector for the Washington Post, on her blog.

Her account was reinstated on Sunday, and she tweeted at 12:38 p.m. (1738 GMT).

Mixed messages

The multi-billionaire boss of the platform had, earlier in the day, declared on Twitter that it was a “temporary suspension due to a previous disclosure of personal data by this account”.

His tweet was responding to Eric Weinstein, managing director of Thiel Capital – an investment company founded by Peter Thiel, investor and supporter of Donald Trump – who asked him about the subject.

The journalist explained that she asked Elon Musk a question via Twitter, for an article she is writing, because she could not reach him through traditional channels.

"At 8:30 p.m. (01:30 GMT) I tried to reach him on Twitter for comment," she said, adding that when she later "tuned in (to Twitter) to see if he had responded to our request, I was suspended. I received no communication from the company about the reasons for my suspension or the conditions that I violated.

Elon Musk has sent mixed messages since taking over Twitter, reinstating previously banned accounts, including Donald Trump's.

But he also suspended that of Kanye West after the publication of several messages deemed anti-Semitic and refused the return to the platform of the far-right conspirator, Alex Jones.

With AFP

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