“People have spoken. Accounts that have ‘doxxed’ my location will now have their suspension lifted“. So Elon Musk announces on twitter the restoration of the accounts of journalists from the New York Times, CNN and the Washington Post who had been banned from his social network for having tracked and posted the movements of his private jet. Musk on this issue had proposed a referendum to Twitter subscribers and 59% chose to restore journalists’ accounts.
The billionaire’s decision to suspend accounts was condemned by the United Nations and the European Union. The UN tweeted that media freedom “is not a toy” while the EU threatened Twitter with sanctions. A Twitter spokesperson told a US tech news website that the bans were related to real-time sharing of Elon Musk’s location data. Meanwhile, after conducting a survey, the owner of the social network has announced plans to return the accounts to journalists. “People have spoken – he wrote on Twitter – Accounts that have ‘doxxed’ my position will now have their suspension lifted”.
Melissa Fleming, UN undersecretary-general for global communications, said she was “deeply disturbed” by reports that journalists were “arbitrarily” suspended from Twitter. “Media freedom is not a toy,” she said. “A free press is the cornerstone of democratic societies and a key tool in the fight against harmful disinformation.”
Yesterday, European Commissioner Vera Jourova threatened Twitter with sanctions under the new European law on digital services, which she says requires “respect for media freedom and fundamental rights. Elon Musk should be aware of this. There are red lines. And sanctions”. For her part, the owner of Twitter commented on the suspensions, stating that “criticizing me all day is fine, but making my location known in real time and endangering my family is not”.
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