(SAN FRANCISCO) The Twitter accounts of several journalists suspended by Elon Musk after they accused him of endangering his family were restored Saturday, but some said they were ordered to remove posts linked to the multi-billionaire’s geographic location. They want to fully utilize the stage.
Elon Musk drew the ire of the European Union and the UN by suspending the accounts of journalists from CNN. The New York Times And The Washington Post In particular, the Vice President of the European Commission threatened him with sanctions.
He started a poll on Twitter asking whether suspended accounts should be reinstated immediately or within a week. About 59% of the 3.69 million Internet users surveyed answered that they would renew them immediately.
“The people have spoken. The suspension will be lifted on accounts that posted my location,” the businessman tweeted late Friday.
On Saturday, the accounts of freelance journalist Aaron Rooper, Mashable reporter Matt Binder and freelance writer Tony Webster were reactivated.
Others were suspended, like Lynette Lopez (Business Insider) and former MSNBC anchor columnist Keith Olbermann.
Donny O’Sullivan, a CNN journalist who works extensively on Elon Musk, said that even though his account reappeared on Saturday, Twitter imposed a condition on him so he could tweet again: He must remove a post that the network believes is in violation. Its privacy policy.
“At this time, I agree to delete this tweet at the request of the billionaire or I will not be allowed to tweet on the platform,” he told CNN.
Tweets and security
The latest controversy involving Elon Musk comes after the Tesla and SpaceX boss announced on Wednesday that he was suspending the @elonjet account that automatically reports on his private jet trips. Some accounts tweeted about the decision.
Elon Musk justified the suspension of the accounts by arguing that he would endanger his safety as well as that of his family.
He said in a tweet Wednesday that a vehicle carrying one of his children in Los Angeles had been tracked by a “crazed stalker,” appearing to create a causal link to his jet’s real-time location.
He also assured that “They posted my exact geographic location in real-time, literally the coordinates that allowed the assassination, in direct (and obvious) violation of Twitter’s terms of use.”
Twitter did not say why these accounts were suspended. The owner of the social network, which has been the source of much controversy since its acquisition in October, did offer some hints.
“Everybody will be treated the same,” he said in an audio conversation hosted live on Twitter on Friday, adding that journalists do not have any privileges. Reopening on this subject, Mr. Musk left the discussion and deactivated the Twitter Spaces audio chat service, citing a “technical issue.”
In a tweet posted overnight Thursday into Friday, Mr. Musk announced a 7-day temporary suspension for “accounts involved in doxxing.”
The term “doxxing” refers to the public disclosure of personal information about a person on the Internet without their consent.
“serious concerns”
The restoration of the accounts was welcomed by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, who called it “good news”.
“But serious concerns remain,” he explained on the social network, stressing, however, that “Twitter has an obligation to respect human rights.”
Journalist Aaron Rooper said on MSNBC that even temporary suspensions have a “chilling” effect on how Elon Musk is covered by the media.
Since taking over the platform for $44 billion, the billionaire has sent mixed messages about what is and isn’t allowed on it.
A staunch defender of free speech — as long as comments respect the law — he has reinstated accounts previously banned by the social network, including those of Donald Trump.
But Kanye West was suspended after he published several messages he deemed anti-Semitic and refused to return to the platform of right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
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