Elon Musk faces growing anger over the ban on Twitter of journalists

Elon Musk faced A Growing backlashFriday was a day of protests from MPs from both sides of the Atlantic. There were threats of penalties and fines. Twitter followed. Accounts suspendedOn Thursday, at least eight journalists were present without prior notice.

The accounts that were suspended were those belonging to Ryan Mack, Donnie O’Sullivan, CNN, and Drew Harwell, Washington Post. It was not clear what these suspensions had in common.

Silencing prominent voices could increase regulatory scrutiny on Twitter and possibly Mr. Musk’s other companies like Tesla and SpaceX which are major recipients government funding and projects. It could also hinder his efforts to get reluctant advertisers back onto the platform.

Protests erupted in response to this action. CNN and The Times have asked Mr. Musk to explain his reasoning. Twitter users argued for the journalists that the move was too punitive.

EU lawmakers could take the offensive. Vera Jourova (Vice-President of European Commission) stated that the move was against the EU’s Digital Services Act as well as the Media Freedom Act.

There are red lines. Soon, sanctions will be imposed. chirpFriday morning

The Digital Services Act, recently ratified by the bloc, is a type of rulebook for content moderation that companies in the bloc can use. will take effect in the coming year. And holds a fineCompanies that break the rules will lose 6 percent of their global revenue

Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts, a member the House Committee on Electronic Communications, expressed her dismay at Twitter’s move. It tweeted Thursday that it had received assurances by Twitter this week that it did not intend to retaliate towards journalists or independent researchers who cover Musk and Twitter.

Several tech reporters were suspended less than 12 hours later. What’s the deal? @elonmusk? ” I wrote.

These moves were made one day after Twitter. suspendedThere were more than twenty other accounts that tracked the movements and movements of Musk’s private plane, including one belonging Jack Sweeney (20-year-old college student). Each of the journalists who were arrested tweeted or wrote about the account that tracked the plane’s movements.

After claiming that a car carrying his children could be run over by a “crazy follower”, the tech billionaire and self-described “ultimate free-speech mogul” introduced a new line of defense this week. The rule: Any Twitter user who posts the live location or other personal information of another person — an act known as doxxing — will be taken offline.

Musk defended the ban on journalists during a Twitter Spaces discussion. Musk stated, “You dox, you’re being suspended. End story” and then suddenly leave the call.

It is not clear how long the suspensions will continue. On Friday, Mr. Musk consultedHe asks his 121 million followers to vote on when accounts that share his location should be returned. As of 8:30 AM ET, almost 60% had voted “now.” ET, close to 60 percent had voted for “now.” (The survey will continue for 14 more hours.)