Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Musk announces ‘amnesty’ for banned Twitter accounts

- AFP feedback@livemint.com REUTERS

SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk said on Thursday many previously suspended Twitter accounts would be allowed back on the platform after a landslide of users responding to an informal poll by the new owner voted in favour of the move.

The announceme­nt comes as Musk faces pushback that his criteria for content moderation is subject to his personal whim, with reinstatem­ents decided for certain accounts and not others.

“The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week,” Musk tweeted, responding to the poll.

“Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” he added, repeating a Latin adage meaning “The voice of the people is the voice of God,” that he has used when talking about other Twitter polls.

Of 3.16 million respondent­s to Musk’s Wednesday poll question, 72.4% said Twitter should allow suspended accounts back on Twitter as long as they have not broken laws or engaged in “egregious spam,” the new owner posted.

It was the same type of “yes/ no” informal poll of Twitter users that Musk devised to decide in favour of reinstatin­g former president Donald Trump on the platform.

Trump’s Twitter account was reinstated on Saturday after a narrow majority of respondent­s supported the move.

Polls on Twitter are open to all users and are unscientif­ic and potentiall­y targeted by fake accounts and bots.

Moreover, while Musk has 118 million followers, many of Twitter’s 450 million monthly active users might never have seen the poll question.

A blanket amnesty for suspended accounts could potentiall­y alarm government authoritie­s that are keeping a close look at Musk’s handling of hateful speech since he bought the influentia­l platform for $44 billion.

It could also spook Apple and Google, tech titans that have the power to ban Twitter from their mobile app stores over content concerns.

 ?? ?? “The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week,” Musk tweeted.
“The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week,” Musk tweeted.

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