Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, said he will reinstate the accounts of several US journalists on the social network after a wave of criticism following the suspension.
“People have spoken. The accounts that posted my location will see their suspension lifted,” the controversial millionaire wrote, on Twitter.
On Friday, the EU threatened Musk with sanctions, while the UN denounced the suspension as “a dangerous precedent” after, the previous day, Twitter had suspended the accounts of several journalists covering the social network and Musk.
Among the journalists targeted are ‘media’ professionals such as CNN (Donie O’Sullivan), the New York Times (Ryan Mac) and Washington Post (Drew Harwell), and other independent journalists.
European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova called the decision ‘worrying’ and reminded that there are ‘red lines’, threatening Elon Musk with ‘sanctions, soon’ in a message on Twitter.
“The freedom of the press cannot be activated and deactivated for convenience,” criticized the German Foreign Ministry, also in a message on the social network. “For this reason, we have a problem with Twitter,” it added.
In another message, the French Minister of Digital Transition, Jean-Noël Barrot, said he was “concerned about the drift into which Elon Musk is precipitating Twitter” and reminded that “freedom of the press is at the basis of democracy.”
Some of the targeted journalists had written about Twitter’s decision to suspend an account that followed the travels of Elon Musk’s private jet, who has led the company since last October.
The Twitter owner published a series of messages indicating that accounts involved in disclosing personal information about an individual on the Internet without their consent “receive a temporary seven-day suspension” and indicated that the rules apply “to journalists” “like everyone else.”
“The impulsive and unwarranted suspension of a number of journalists such as CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan is troubling but not surprising,” the television network reacted in a statement.
“The instability and increasing volatility of Twitter is particularly concerning for those who use the platform. We have asked Twitter for an explanation and will reassess our relationship in light of that response,” CNN added.
For his part, a spokesman for the New York Times, Charlie Stadtlander, said he hoped the journalists’ accounts would be restored and that Twitter would provide “a satisfactory explanation.”
When he first came to Twitter, Elon Musk promised to keep the @ElonJet account, which automatically followed the plane’s movements and which was created by a student, boasting 500,000 followers.
Since he bought the platform for 44 billion dollars (41.5 billion euros), the millionaire has sent contradictory messages about what is authorized and what is not.