And the expression freedom? Musk suspends Twitter accounts of journalists investigating him

There were those who blindly believed in the millionaire Elon Musk. What he offered was attractive: the owner of Tesla, whom social networks insist on highlighting as a genius, offered to transform Twitter in a paradise of democracy and freedom of expression.

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“When I talk about freedom of expression, I mean simply what conforms to the law. I am against censorship that goes beyond the law. If people want less freedom of expression, ask the government to pass laws about it”, was explained in a tweet.

The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2022

But just as he was about to swindle the previous owners of Twitter -first he offered, the shares of the social network fell, then he backed down and, finally, he was forced to keep his word and buy the platform-, it seems that users will also suffer during Musk’s reign. It has just been learned that the accounts of journalists “highlights covering the news about the business owner” and who belong to media such as “CNN”, “Washington Post” and “New York Times”were suspended without giving reasons.

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About, Raúl Castro, Dean of Communication at the Southern Scientific Universitypoints out that what we witness is part of the “Musk’s erratic rule over Twitter”. It is clear to the specialist that the millionaire, but his objectives respond to having influence.

“There is no type of proposal to improve the quality of the information. I think that’s because he doesn’t understand it as a public service asset. Quite the opposite. It seems that his operation on Twitter is to channel his power into a global information system”.

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inconsistencies?

The journalists in question are not the only ones affected by the wishes of Elon Musk. Jack Sweeneythe 20-year-old boy who manages the account @ElonJet -dedicated to sharing the location of the millionaire’s private jet- is also in the crosshairs.

Despite the fact that Sweeney used public information, Musk closed his account. It was the last step after several months of trying to get the account deactivated. In fact, it is remembered that he offered him $5,000 to cancel it, to which the boy asked for $50,000 and, later, an internship at his company. “But the tycoon blocked it”, recalls “The Nation”.

In response and already in command of TwitterMusk changed the Terms and Conditions: on the platform you can not share “the location of people in real time”.

“El Diario.es” maintains that a possible “trigger” was that “a ‘stalker’ followed the car carrying one of his children after the @ElonJet account published that his private plane had landed in California”. Musk tweeted: “Criticizing me all day is not a problem, but revealing my location in real time and putting my family in danger is”.

But there is no mistake. It seems that Musk doesn’t just suspend accounts based on their personal safety.

The BBC recalls that Twitter also “suspended the official account of Mastodonwhich emerged as an alternative to Twitter since Musk bought it”. “It happened after Mastodon used Twitter to promote Sweeney’s new account on Thursday, according to the ‘New York Times.’”added the medium.

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On this, Castro adds that it is clear that there is not a single yardstick to measure this type of situation, that if that were the case, all accounts that violate privacy would be blocked. But it seems that he is not interested.

The specialist concludes:The orientation of their policies respond to the arbitrariness of their wishes and objectives. Also to their moods: there is a lot of explosive emotionality. Behind the blocking of these media there is a symbolism. Some already wonder: ”.

Possible consequences

While this is happening, the European Union expressed his concern and said that he could sanction Twitter. , he tweeted: “The news about the suspension of journalists from Twitter is worrying (…) Elon Musk should take note of this. There are red lines. And, soon, there will be sanctions”.

In July, the EU enacted two laws – Digital Markets and of Digital Services– to regulate this type of virtual platforms. The AFP agency maintains that they aim at “regulate tax practices and strategies” from companies like “Google, Apple, Facebook [Meta]Amazon and Microsoft“, Y “respect for freedom of the press and fundamental rights”.

AFP adds that violations of the laws “may be sanctioned with up to 6% of their worldwide turnover” and, if it is a repeated fault, with the suspension of the European Union.

For his part, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) stated in a statement that “Twitter’s decision to ban the accounts of several journalists proves that the arbitrary way of leading online platforms poses a great threat to democracy”. The United Nations They shared the opinion. Their spokesperson, Stephane DujarricHeld: “The move sets a dangerous precedent at a time when journalists around the world face censorship, physical threats and even worse.”.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.