Twitter bans users from promoting accounts on Facebook, Mastodon

Dec. 18 (Reuters) – Twitter said on Sunday it will remove accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms and content that contains links or usernames.

This move will affect content from social media platforms such as Meta Platforms (META.O) Facebook and Instagram, along with Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr and Post with cross-content posting allowed, Twitter support said in a tweet.

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who recently invested in social media platform Nostr, responded to Twitter’s support post with one word: “Why?” In a response to another user who posted about banning the promotion of Nostr, Dorsey said, “It makes no sense.”

The short video platform TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance Ltd, is not included in the list.

Last week, Twitter dissolved the Trust and Safety Council, a volunteer group formed in 2016 to advise the social media platform on the site’s decisions.

The policy change follows other chaotic actions on Twitter since Elon Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla (TSLA.O), bought the social network. He has fired senior management and laid off about half of its workforce, while vacillating over how much to pay for Twitter Blue, a subscription service.

Musk also suspended the accounts of several journalists over the controversy over the publication of public statements about the billionaire’s plane.

Musk reinstated the accounts after criticism from government officials, advocacy groups and press organizations from several parts of the world on Friday, with some saying the micro-blogging platform endangered press freedom.

Reporting by Orvi Duggar in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker

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