Twitter says it is going to not permit ‘free promotion’ of different social media platforms

Twitter mentioned it is going to not permit customers to advertise different social media accounts on its platform, in line with a thread of tweets the company shared Sunday.

“We acknowledge that a lot of our customers are energetic on different social media platforms,” the corporate mentioned. “Nonetheless, we’ll not permit free promotion of sure social media platforms on Twitter.”

Many customers have been sharing their different social media accounts on Twitter following Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover of the corporate in October. Twitter mentioned the corporate will nonetheless permit cross-posting from totally different platforms, however tweeting content material like “comply with me @username on Instagram,” or “username@mastodon.social” is now a coverage violation.

Posting third-party hyperlink aggregators like linktr.ee and lnk.bio can be banned underneath the brand new guidelines.

If customers violate this new coverage, they might be required to delete their offending tweets. Accounts may additionally be quickly locked or suspended, Twitter mentioned. The corporate will take away accounts that attempt to get across the guidelines by posting screenshots of their different accounts or spelling out phrases like “dot.”

The coverage is uncommon, as few, if any, different social media firms have guidelines about sharing hyperlinks to different accounts. Twitter’s co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey mentioned the corporate’s new coverage “would not make sense” in a tweet Sunday.

Twitter has carried out numerous controversial suspensions this week because of latest modifications to its coverage on “doxxing,” which the company defines because the “sharing somebody’s non-public info on-line with out their permission.”

The up to date coverage prohibits customers from sharing stay location info, residence addresses, contact info or bodily location info. The modifications resulted in numerous account suspensions, together with many journalists who’ve been protecting Musk and his firms. Musk accused the suspended journalists of sharing non-public details about his whereabouts, which he known as “principally assassination coordinates.” CNBC couldn’t confirm this allegation.

The non-public jet flight-tracking accounts created by 20-year-old Jack Sweeney, a lot of which tracked Musk’s journey actions, have been additionally suspended.

Alex Howard, director of the Digital Democracy Mission, instructed CNBC that establishments will “be compelled off the sidelines” if Twitter’s “extraordinary new restrictions proceed.”

“These coverage modifications, right now, mixed with hostility to press and bans this previous week are vital, historic and will inform the continuing stance of media, tech and academia together with governments,” he mentioned Sunday.

Musk, who can be the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been vocal about his efforts to guard free speech on Twitter. In early November, he claimed he was such a staunch advocate totally free speech that he wouldn’t ban Sweeney’s account monitoring his airplane, which he known as a “direct private security threat.” As of Sunday, Sweeney’s accounts, together with his private account, remained suspended.

Lots of the suspended journalists’ accounts have been reinstated Saturday, however Enterprise Insider’s Linette Lopez continues to be suspended. Twitter suspended The Washington Publish’s Taylor Lorenz late Saturday night time, however her account was reinstated as of Sunday afternoon.

Digital Democracy’s Howard mentioned Twitter has all the time been formed by its customers, not by its operators, however that the platform’s latest modifications will affect what it turns into going ahead.

“Since 2006, Twitter has acted as an info utility, together with a information browser, organizing software, workplace watercooler, social community and world platform for protests, campaigns and lies that fueled an rebel,” he mentioned. “The emergent conduct we see in response to the previous week of modifications will form what Twitter can be in 2023, and to whom.”

— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.