Twitter will no longer allow users to promote or link to at least seven major social media sites, the platform announced Sunday.
The new policy comes after many users began posting links to their accounts on other sites following Elon Musk’s takeover as CEO of Twitter and the platform’s subsequent reinstatement of far-right accounts, suspension of journalists and mass layoffs under his reign.
It marks the most significant change to Twitter under Musk and among the most expansive of any social media platforms’ policies in how it limits what users can post. Other social media companies have few, if any, rules about users posting links to their accounts on other platforms.
“We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter,” Twitter Support tweeted Sunday.
“Specifically, we will remove accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms and content that contains links or usernames for the following platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr and Post,” the post continued.
The policy will also ban third-party link aggregators including linktr.ee and lnk.bio, it states, adding that it will also seek to remove users who try to circumvent the rules by spelling out “dot” and sharing screenshots of their handles on prohibited platforms, among other means.
First-time offenders may be required to delete tweets or may have their accounts locked, and “any subsequent offenses will result in permanent suspension,” the platform said. Users who violate the policy by linking or mentioning other social media accounts in their bio or account name will have their account temporarily suspended and will be required to remove the mentions to be reinstated.
The new rule will still allow users to cross-post content from other sites, as well as links or usernames to social media sites that are not subject to the ban, the company said. Users who believe their accounts were mistakenly suspended or locked can appeal, Twitter added.
Some in the tech industry criticized the move. Aaron Levie, CEO of cloud storage company Box tweeted, “This is just sad.” Benedict Evans, a London-based tech analyst, tweeted that the move was “absolutely pathetic.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
