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The United Nations has joined the European Union in condemning Twitter’s decision to freeze the accounts of some journalists covering the platform.
Twitter had suddenly suspended the accounts of a number of prominent journalists covering the news of the company’s owner, Elon Musk.
The United Nations said in a tweet on Twitter that freedom of the press “is not a game,” and Twitter threatened to impose sanctions.
“We are deeply disturbed by the arbitrary suspension of journalists’ accounts on Twitter,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the organization’s Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. “The voices of the media should not be silenced on a platform that proclaims that it is a space of freedom (…) The decision sets a dangerous precedent at a time when journalists around the world are facing The world is censorship and physical threats.
Melissa Fleming, Assistant Secretary-General for Global Communications, said she was “deeply disturbed by reports of arbitrary suspensions of Twitter accounts”.
She added that “media freedom is not a game” and that “press freedom is the cornerstone of democratic societies, and plays an essential role in countering disinformation.”
Earlier on Friday, EU Commissioner Vera Jourova threatened to impose sanctions on Twitter under the EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires respect for media freedom and fundamental rights.
She said, “Elon Musk must be aware of the existence of red lines and urgent penalties.”
“Enough with the arbitrariness of platforms,” Reporters Without Borders said in a statement. “The management of these platforms must become democratic before democracies submit completely to their whims.”
Sanctions can be imposed on Musk under the Digital Freedom Act, which will enter into force at the beginning of next year.
According to the new law, the European Commission will be able to impose fines of up to 6 percent of the global revenue of the company that violates the laws, and it is also possible, in the most serious cases, to request the Commission from a court to freeze the services of the company concerned, but only in the event that the company refuses to fulfill its obligations in what constitutes A threat to people’s lives and security.
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Reporters for the New York Times, CNN and The Washington Post were among those whose accounts were suspended Thursday night.
Also banned are Misha Lee of The Intercept, Matt Binder of Mashable, and freelance reporters Aaron Robar and Tony Webster.
A Twitter spokeswoman told The Verge that the ban was related to the live sharing of location data.
It comes after Musk vowed to sue the owner of an account that tracked the location of his plane.
On Wednesday, Twitter suspended Elon Jet’s account, as well as other accounts that use publicly available information to track Musk’s private jets.
Musk said a “crazy stalker” used live location sharing to find a car carrying his children in Los Angeles.
This account was created by a student and has about half a million followers. This account was using public data to automatically indicate the time and place of take-off and landing of the “Space-X” and “Tesla” aircraft.
Later, Twitter published a tweet confirming that most tweets that reveal the location of any person in real time are blocked.
Twitter also suspended the official account of Mastodon, which emerged as an alternative to Twitter after Musk bought it for $44 billion in October.
This came after Mastodon used Twitter to promote Sweeney’s new account on Thursday, according to The New York Times.
And when he took over the presidency of Twitter, Musk promised not to harm the Elon Gate account. Since buying the platform for $44 billion, the billionaire has launched mixed messages about what is and isn’t allowed.
Musk, who says he is an ardent defender of freedom of expression, restored accounts that were previously banned from the social network, including that of former US President Donald Trump.
But he also suspended the account of rapper “Ye” (Kanye West) after posting several tweets deemed anti-Semitic, and rejected the return of far-right Alex Jones’ account, which promotes conspiracy theories.
A New York Times spokesperson called the suspension “suspicious and unfortunate” and said the newspaper and reporter Ryan Mack had not received any explanation for the action.
“The hasty and unwarranted comment by a number of reporters is disturbing, but not surprising,” CNN said. CNN requested an explanation from Twitter and said it would “reassess our relationship based on this response.”
CNN’s Donnie O’Sullivan, whose account was among those suspended, said the move was significant in terms of the “potentially chilling effect” it could have on journalists, especially those covering other Musk companies.
Musk did not comment directly on the suspensions, but said in a tweet on Twitter, “Criticizing me all day is totally acceptable, but locating me in real time and putting my family in danger is not.”
He added that vetting accounts, which seek to reveal private information about individuals online, are being temporarily suspended for seven days.
“The same rules apply to journalists as they apply to everyone else,” he wrote on Twitter. “They published my exact location in real time, it’s the coordinates of an assassination attempt, in direct and clear violation of Twitter’s terms of service,” he added.
He added, “If anyone posts real-time locations and addresses to New York Times reporters, the FBI will investigate, there will be hearings on Capitol Hill, and Biden will give speeches about the end of democracy!”
The tech mogul has since conducted a poll asking if he should unsuspend accounts “now” or “within seven days,” suggesting the decision could be reversed sooner rather than later.
Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, told The Verge that the bans relate to new regulations introduced on Wednesday that prohibit “live location information, including information shared on Twitter directly or links to third-party addresses for travel itineraries.”
“Without commenting on any specific accounts, I can confirm that we will suspend any accounts that violate our privacy policies and put other users at risk,” Irwin said.
“We do not make exceptions to this policy for journalists or any other accounts,” she added.