Following Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter Inc., users are curious to see if the billionaire’s opposition for lifetime bans will result in the return of high-profile names who were previously blocked from using the social networking platform.
Twitter has stated that it will delete posts which contain obscenity, violence, or break trademark laws. The company has also said it would add labels to tweets which might spread false information. If a member persists in violating Twitter’s rules, or does so in an especially offensive way, the platform insists it has the right to ban that person permanently.
According to Bloomberg, Musk, who calls himself a “free speech absolutist,” is likely to get rid of permanent bans. This could open the door to reinstating some accounts that have been previously blocked, starting with that of the former US President Donald Trump.
After the US Capitol was stormed on Jan. 6, 2021, the 45th US president was no longer allowed access to large social media platforms, such as Twitter.
Many people accused Trump of encouraging his supporters to become violent when Congress was in the process of counting the electoral votes that certified President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. The former president, who at the time had nearly 89 million followers on Twitter, called the ban “disgusting” before promising he wouldn’t return to the platform. He instead established his own social media service called Truth Social.
On Friday, Trump said he was “very happy” Twitter was now in Elon Musk’s “sane hands” — but didn’t mention any prospect of returning to the microblogging and social networking service.
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Twitter permanently kicked Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, off of the social media platform in January, claiming the congresswoman repeatedly violated the tech giant’s “COVID-19 misinformation policy.”
Greene, whose official congressional Twitter account remains active, responded to the ban on GETTR, saying “Twitter is an enemy to America.”
Following Musk’s Twitter acquisition this week, the congresswoman celebrate the platform’s change-up tweeting: “We are winning.”
We are winning.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) October 28, 2022
Steve Bannon
In November 2020, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was removed from Twitter after he called for putting the heads of Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray “on pikes.” His comments were made in a video posted to his Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter accounts.
Twitter issued a statement at the time stating Bannon’s comments violated the tech company’s “policy on the glorification of violence.”
Alex Jones
In 2018, talk show host Alex Jones was permanently suspended from Twitter for allegedly violating the company’s abusive behavior policy. At the time, the platform didn’t specify which posts violated its policy.
Following the ban, Mr. Jones, who used his Twitter account to share content and videos from his InfoWars website, accused the social media platform of unfair censorship of his account.
Kanye West
Rapper Kanye Omari West, who has legally changed his name to ‘Ye’, was banned from Twitter on October 9, 2022, following a series of inflammatory and anti-Semitic comments he made in recent weeks. However, after Elon Musk took over as CEO of the social media platform, Ye’s account appeared to have been restored.
Though it is unclear if Twitter currently permits the rapper to tweet, Musk stated in a tweet that the decision to allow Ye’s account was made by Twitter without notifying him.
“Ye’s account was restored by Twitter before the acquisition. They did not consult with or inform me,” the billionaire said when asked by a user.
While it’s unclear whether these accounts or other banned accounts will actually be reinstated, Musk’s Twitter takeover move could signal a change in how the company plans to handle controversial content.
What do you think? Will this have a positive or negative impact on the platform? Let us know in the comments!
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