Elon Musk “closes” accounts of American journalists on Twitter – Global outcry

A self-proclaimed champion of freedom of expression, controversial billionaire Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, today caused a new stir and global outcry by suspending the accounts of American journalists for “doxing” (posting online personal information associated with a person without consent of).

The accounts of about a dozen American journalists were suspended by the social network – among them employees of CNN (Donie O’Sullivan), the New York Times (Ryan Mac) and the Washington Post (Drew Harwell) as well as independent journalists.

Twitter did not officially say why it suspended their accounts, but some of these journalists had previously commented on the platform’s decision to suspend the @ElonJet account that was “tracking” the routes of Elon Musk’s private jet.

Twitter has since announced that under its policy it will henceforth ban the majority of tweets that state someone’s real-time location.

Musk himself last night, in a flurry of tweets, offered some explanations.

“The doxing accounts in question receive a 7-day temporary suspension,” Elon Musk tweeted, saying the rules apply to “journalists.” [σ.σ. η λέξη με εισαγωγικά] just like anyone else.”

The Twitter account of Mastodon, a competitor of the social network, was also suspended.

Reaction from CNN and New York Times

“The impulsive and unwarranted suspension of a number of journalists such as (CNN’s) Donnie O’Sullivan is troubling, but not surprising,” CNN said in a statement.

“Twitter’s increasing volatility and volatility is of particular concern to anyone using the platform. We have sought an explanation from Twitter and will re-evaluate our relationship based on the response,” CNN added.

“We hope that the accounts of all journalists will be restored and that Twitter will provide a satisfactory explanation,” said New York Times spokesman Charlie Standlander.

Warning of sanctions from the European Union

Calling this decision “worrying”, European Commission vice-president Vera Jourova warned Elon Musk that there will soon be “sanctions” under a new European law.

The responsible Commissioner for values ​​and transparency reminded that the law on digital services – which is expected to apply to the technology giants next summer – “requires respect for the freedom of the media and basic rights”.

“Elon Musk should know. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon,” he said.

He also said the Media Freedom Act, a draft regulation now under discussion aimed at protecting press freedom and media pluralism, would strengthen European legislation.

“Freedom of the press must not be turned on and off at will,” the German Foreign Ministry announced today in a tweet. “That’s why we have a problem with Twitter,” he added.

In another tweet, French Digital Transition Minister Jean-Noel Barot expressed “disappointment at the derailment into which Elon Musk is speeding Twitter: “Freedom of the press is a foundation of democracy itself. When one is hurt, the other is hurt.”

Earlier in the story, Elon Musk had tweeted on Wednesday that a vehicle in Los Angeles with one of his children in it had been followed by a “crazy stalker” and appeared to point the finger at the tracking of his private jet as the reason.

When he took over as head of Twitter, Elon Musk had promised not to touch the @ElonJet account.

Since buying the platform for $44 billion, the billionaire has sent mixed messages about what’s allowed and what’s not.

A staunch advocate of broad freedom of expression — as long as the statements comply with the law — he reinstated accounts previously banned by the social network, including that of Donald Trump.

But it also suspended that of Kanye West after he posted messages deemed anti-Semitic and denied the return to the platform of far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

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