The European Union threatens to sanction Elon Musk for suspending journalists’ Twitter accounts

After Twitter suspended the accounts of more than half a dozen journalists who reported on the company and its new owner, Elon Musk, the European Union (EU) threatened to fine the social network.

Some of the suspended reporters tweeted about this week’s decision to remove the @ElonJet account, which tracked Musk’s private plane flights, and versions from the same user on other social networks.

Among the blocked accounts are those of the workers of CNN, New York Times and Washington Postas well as independent communicators.

Furthermore, the user of Mastodon, also a microblogging social network, but open source, and an alternative promoted by the detractors of the new version of Twitter under the orders of the richest man in the world, was suspended.

“They posted my exact real-time location, basically the coordinates of the murder, in (obvious) direct violation of the Twitter Terms of Service“, Musk justified himself echoing the decision.

“If someone published the real-time locations and addresses of New York Times reporters, the FBI would investigate, there would be hearings on Capitol Hill and (Joe) Biden would be giving speeches on the end of democracy,” joked the tycoon, who in it later released a survey asking users whether or not to unblock journalist profiles.

@ElonJet’s suspension came on Wednesday after the owner also of Tesla and SpaceX tweeted that a vehicle in Los Angeles carrying one of his children was followed by “a mad stalker” and he appeared to blame the alleged incident on tracking his private plane.

In his tweet, he said he had filed a lawsuit against the person who managed the account, which was suspended despite the businessman promising not to in pursuit of the freedom of expression he claims to defend.

“Well it looks like @ElonJet is suspended,” its creator Jack Sweeney tweeted from his personal @JxckSweeney account, also posted the same luck afterreported the AFP news agency.

Later, Twitter reportedly updated its policy to ban tweets that, in most cases, reveal someone’s location in real time.

Musk wrote that “any account that doxxes (public disclosure of personal data) with real-time location information will be suspended, as is a physical breach of security.”

The reaction of the European Union

The European Union (EU) reacted to the businessman’s decision and warned about possible measures.

“The news of the suspension of journalists from Twitter is worrying (…) Musk must take note. There are red lines. And, soon, there will be sanctions,” said European Commissioner for Transparency, Vera Jourova.

In her message, the leader referred to one of the two laws that the EU adopted in July and with which the block will regulate the activity of the giants of the sector and the main platforms of the block.

Both the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) will go into effect next year.

With this regulation, the EU seeks to regulate the tax practices and strategies of the giants gathered under the acronym GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook which is now called Meta, Amazon and Microsoft) as well as other companies.

These platforms will remain under permanent surveillance and violations of the legislation can be fined up to 6% of their global turnover. In case of repeated violations, a platform will not be able to operate in the EU.

In this sense, in her warning to Musk, Jourova recalled that the DSA requires “respect for freedom of the press and fundamental rights”.

Germany’s foreign ministry said today it was concerned about “press freedom” after journalists’ accounts were blocked.

“Press freedom shouldn’t be whimsically toggled on and off,” the portfolio tweeted along with a screenshot of the suspended accounts.

Even the French minister for the digital transition, Jean-Noël Barrot, on the same social network said he was “distressed by the drift into which Twitter Elon Musk is falling”.

“Freedom of the press is the very foundation of democracy, it is an attack on the other“, he has declared.

The media outlets of the affected journalists also expressed their repudiation: “The impulsive and unwarranted suspension of several journalists such as CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan is disturbing but not surprising,” the network said in a statement.

“Twitter’s growing instability and volatility is of particular interest to anyone who uses the platform. We have questioned Twitter and will reevaluate our relationship. based on that answer“, they added.

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

Reporters Without Borders, vs

Also Reporters Without Borders (RSF) He called for the suspended accounts to be reinstated and denounced that the “arbitrariness of the big platforms” represents a “greater danger for democracy”.

“We must put an end to the arbitrariness of the platforms and recover their democratic control before they completely subject democracies to their whims and it is too late,” said Christophe Deloire, secretary general of this NGO for the defense of press freedom founded in France in 1985.

Since taking over Twitter, Musk sent mixed messages about what is allowed or not on the platform.

It has restored previously suspended accounts from the social network, including that of former US president Donald Trump, but also deleted that of rapper Kanye West after the publication of several messages deemed anti-Semitic.

And he rejected the return on Twitter of Alex Jones, founder of the far-right site InfoWars, ordered to pay about 1.5 billion dollars in damages for claiming responsibility for the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School it was a “hoax”.