Twitter Adds, Then Removes, Terms Banning Social Media Competitor Links
Reading Time: 2 minutesTwitter’s ban on competitor site links did not last long.
Twitter introduced, and then hastily reverted, new terms that banned linking to social media competitor sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Mastodon. This follows earlier blocking of Mastodon links on the site.
Twitter Bans Social Media Competitor Sites
The new terms were introduced on Sunday, 18 December 2022, in tweets by Twitter Support. But the tweets, as well as the page describing the new terms, were removed a few hours later.
However, cached versions of the tweets and policy page were still available, which MUO was able to retrieve. The original tweets by Twitter support stated: ‘We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter.’
A followup tweet stated: ‘Specifically, we will remove accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms and content that contains links or usernames for the following platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr and Post.’
For these platforms, users were not allowed to post any URLs to the sites or provide their profile handles. Link aggregators such as Linktr.ee and Lnk.bio were also banned.
Examples of posts that could get you in trouble under this policy included:
- ‘Follow me @username on Instagram’.
- ‘Username@mastodon.social’.
- ‘Check out my profile on Facebook – facebook.com/username.
Furthermore, accounts that primarily promoted content on other social media platforms faced suspension. Those who violated the policy would face temporarily locked accounts that would require them to remove tweets that broke the new policy or change their display name if the competitor username was included there. Those who repeated the offence would be permanently banned.
However, paid advertisements for these platforms would be allowed.
You can see the cached version of the terms page for yourself on the archived version on the Wayback Machine.
Why Did Twitter Reverse Course?
Twitter may have reversed course on the policy due to the negative reaction. Many users criticized the ban as it affected new Twitter competitors, major platforms, and even Donald Trump’s Truth Social alternative. While the former US president has had his account restored on Twitter, Trump has snubbed Twitter for Truth Social instead.
In an apparent response to the controversy, Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted: ‘Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won’t happen again.’
The attempted ban comes just days after Twitter introduced a new policy banning live-location sharing, which resulted in the ban of the ElonJet account, as well as some journalists reporting on the ban.
More Changes to Come to Twitter
With so many previously unannounced changes coming to Twitter, it’s likely that the social media platform will continue to move fast under its new leadership. However, this doesn’t mean that every change will be popular—or last more than a few hours.
Reference: https://www.makeuseof.com/twitter-adds-removes-ban-social-media-competitor-links/