The reactivation of the profiles comes after Elon Musk’s announcement. The governments of several countries and the UN condemned the suspension and the European Union threatened a billionaire with sanctions.Twitter began this Saturday (12/17) to reactivate the accounts of journalists in the United States who had been suspended the day before. The reactivation came after the platform’s new owner, Elon Musk, said he intended to reverse the decision that suspended the profiles and generated a wave of criticism from corporate entities. civil society, press organisations, politicians, governments and the UN.

“People have spoken. Accounts that posted my position will now have their suspension lifted,” Musk wrote in the early hours of Saturday.

According to a verification by the Reuters news agency, the suspended accounts – which concerned, among others, journalists from the New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN – were reactivated this Saturday morning.

The suspension of accounts on the social network has hit journalists who have recently written about Musk, and the changes that have taken place since he took over the platform. After the sudden suspension, Musk, who took over the platform saying he would defend free speech on the social network above all else, accused reporters of sharing private information about his whereabouts. He did not present evidence of his accusation.

When questioned, Twitter did not comment on the decision and gave no indication of the reasons that led to the suspension of the accounts.

wave of criticism

Press and civil society organizations, as well as politicians and government in several countries condemned Musk’s decision, seen by critics as proof that the billionaire was trying to censor free speech and ban online media. users he dislikes.

The governments of the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the European Union considered that the suspension of journalists from the platform endangered the freedom of the press.

“Freedom of the press cannot be turned on and off at will. From today, these journalists can no longer follow us, comment on us or criticize us. We have a problem with this @Twitter,” the German Foreign Office wrote.

European Commission Vice-President Vera Jourova said the decision was “worrying” and said there were “red lines” threatening Musk with sanctions.

The United Nations called the suspension arbitrary and considered the decision “a dangerous precedent” in the context of censorship and threats against media professionals around the world. “The voices of the press must not be silenced on a platform that claims to give space to freedom of expression,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Dujarric added that the UN was very concerned about the decision and said she was in touch with Twitter. “In our view, this decision sets a dangerous precedent at a time when journalists around the world face censorship, physical threats and even worse,” he said.

Since taking over Twitter, Musk has made a series of changes to the platform. One of his first decisions was to lay off half of the company’s employees.

cn (Reuters, Lusa)

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