Twitter users will no longer be able to publish ‘links’ to competing social networks, such as Facebook or Instagram, announced today Elon Musk’s platform, again involved in controversy after the suspension of journalists’ accounts.
“Twitter no longer allows the free promotion of certain social networks on Twitter,” the platform said in a statement, indicating that Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Post and Nostr will be affected.
This change is released on the same day that a journalist from The Washington Post reported that her Twitter account had been suspended.
“Elon Musk suspended my Twitter account,” wrote Taylor Lorenz, who follows technology industry news for the US newspaper.
The multimillionaire owner of the platform publicly responded on Twitter that it is a “temporary suspension due to prior disclosure of personal data by this account”, and that this measure “will be lifted soon”.
Taylor Lorenz explained that he asked Elon Musk a question via Twitter, for an article he is writing, because he was unable to reach him through traditional channels.
“My colleague Drew Harwell, who was also suspended, and I are working on a story involving Musk and are hoping to get some feedback from him. We tried to contact him several times by email in the last few days”, said the journalist.
Elon Musk earlier this week suspended the Twitter accounts of several journalists, whom he accused of putting his family at risk by publishing his location.
Twitter’s new owner said on Saturday he would reinstate US journalists’ accounts on the social network after a wave of criticism following the suspension.
On Friday, the European Union (EU) threatened Musk with sanctions, while the UN denounced the suspension as “a dangerous precedent”.
