After celebs mocked Elon Musk, Twitter’s new owner, he said impersonators’ accounts will be banned without warning, unless clearly marked as parody.
After several celebrity and blue-check verified Twitter users changed their accounts to mimic the social network’s new owner Elon Musk, he called for a swift change to policy enforcement.
Musk wrote on Sunday that, moving forward, Twitter will now permanently suspend impersonators’ accounts without warning if they are not clearly labeled as parody.
In a series of tweets on Sunday, the Tesla, SpaceX and now Twitter CEO seemed to change his mind on permanent bans, and wrote:
In May, after he agreed to buy Twitter, Musk argued against lifetime bans and said he would reverse one on Donald Trump. Twitter had banned the former president in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, fearing Trump’s tweets would incite further violence. Trump has said he would not return to Twitter.
Before Musk closed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter on Oct. 28, the social network’s rules specified that users, «may not impersonate individuals, groups, or organizations to mislead, confuse, or deceive others, nor use a fake identity in a manner that disrupts the experience of others on Twitter.»
The company previously required that users engaged in parody should, «distinguish themselves in BOTH their account name and bio.»
Twitter previously said it would take any of three actions in response to impersonators, including: «profile moderation,» «temporary suspension,» or a «permanent suspension.» The platform would not usually jump to a permanent ban of a user’s account for impersonation prior to Musk’s takeover.
As of Sunday evening, Twitter had not yet updated its terms of service to reflect Musk’s direction.
The decision of the «Chief Twit,» as he has jokingly called himself, has stirred controversy and consternation, in part because Musk bills himself as a free speech absolutist.
Last week, he put down activists, including civil rights leaders who called on advertisers to stop spending on Twitter until Musk proves the company can deliver on its trust and safety promises under his leadership.
