Elon Musk restores Twitter suspended journalists' accounts

Twitter early on Saturday reinstated the accounts of most of the journalists who were suspended by owner Elon Musk, who took issue with the content of their tweets. 

The suspensions included reporters from CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Musk, who claims to be a "free speech absolutist," froze the accounts on Thursday, prompting accusations that he was attempting to stifle voices of dissent.

Why were the accounts frozen?

Among those who were suspended were journalists who had tweeted about Twitter shutting down an account that tracked flights of Musk's private jet. 

Twitter did not say why the accounts were suspended and some journalists say they had posted nothing. However, Musk did accuse some journalists of sharing his whereabouts. Some of those who Twitter suspended said they had posted nothing of that nature.

Musk said on Wednesday that a car carrying one of his children in Los Angeles was followed by "a crazy stalker." In the tweet, he said legal action is being taken against the person who ran the ElonJet account, appearing to blame them for the incident but without providing evidence.

Musk had previously said he would not suspend the aircraft-tracking account.

Twitter said it had updated its policy to, in most cases, prevent tweets from revealing the real-time location of individuals.

The Tesla tycoon tweeted late Friday that Twitter would lift the suspensions after a public poll on the site that showed almost 60% of respondents in favor of immediate reinstatements rather than week-long bans.

Most of the accounts had been restored early on Saturday. Among the exceptions was Business Insider's Linette Lopez, who Twitter suspended after the other journalists.

Lopez published a string of articles between 2018 and 2021 drawing attention to alleged manufacturing shortcomings of Tesla cars.

International condemnation for move

The suspensions prompted condemnation from officials in France, Germany and Britain, as well as the European Union and United Nations.

The German Foreign Office took to Twitter to post images of the frozen accounts and said the ministry took issue with decisions that jeopardized press freedom.

"Press freedom cannot be switched on and off on a whim," the ministry wrote on its official Twitter account. "The journalists below can no longer follow us, comment and criticise. We have a problem with that, @Twitter."

EU commissioner Vera Jourova posted on Twitter said the platform could face hefty fines under European law.

"News about arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is worrying," Jourova said.

"Elon Musk should be aware of that. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon," she added.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said it was reconsidering its involvement with Twitter.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the move set "a dangerous precedent at a time when journalists all over the world are facing censorship, physical threats and even worse."

Rocky ride since Twitter takeover

Since Musk took control after a $44 billion takeover of Twitter, mainly by selling shares in car-maker Tesla, the platform has shifted from one controversy to the next.

Some advertisers abandoned Twitter after Musk acquired the platform in October over concerns about content moderation. Musk has pledged that the site will not become a "hellscape" for toxic views.

A scheme to allow users to subscribe for "blue tick" labels for their accounts, previously a validation of authenticity, was scrapped after concerns about the spread of disinformation. 

Musk has fired many of Twitter's staff, with human content moderation teams largely axed in favor of automated processes. 

Musk has reinstated the account of former US president Donald Trump and said Twitter would end its policy of prohibiting COVID-19 misinformation.

rc/jcg (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)