Musk Announces 'amnesty' For Banned Twitter Accounts After Poll
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published November 25, 2022 | 08:50 AM
San Francisco, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Nov, 2022 ) :Elon Musk said Thursday many previously suspended Twitter accounts would be allowed back on the platform after a landslide of users responding to an informal poll by the new owner voted in favor of the move.
The announcement comes as Musk faces pushback that his criteria for content moderation is subject to his personal whim, with reinstatements decided for certain accounts and not others.
"The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week," Musk tweeted, responding to the poll.
"Vox Populi, Vox Dei," he added, repeating a Latin adage meaning "The voice of the people is the voice of God," that he has used when talking about other Twitter polls.
Of 3.16 million respondents to Musk's Wednesday poll question, 72.4 percent said Twitter should allow suspended accounts back on Twitter as long as they have not broken laws or engaged in "egregious spam," Musk posted.
It was the same type of "yes/no" informal poll of Twitter users that Musk devised to decide in favor of reinstating former president Donald Trump on the platform.
Trump's Twitter account was reinstated Saturday after a narrow majority of respondents supported the move.
Polls on Twitter are open to all users and are unscientific and potentially targeted by fake accounts and bots.
Moreover, while Musk has 118 million followers, many of Twitter's 450 million monthly active users might never have seen the poll question.
A blanket amnesty for suspended accounts could potentially alarm government authorities that are keeping a close look at Musk's handling of hateful speech since he bought the influential platform for $44 billion.
It could also spook Apple and Google, tech titans that have the power to ban Twitter from their mobile app stores over content concerns.
Trump was banned from the platform early last year for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Musk's reinstatement of Trump followed that of other banned accounts including a conservative parody site and a psychologist who had violated Twitter's rules on language identifying transgender people.
The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has said that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones will not be returning to Twitter and will remain banned from the platform.
Musk on Sunday said he had "no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame" due to his own experience with the death of his first child.
Jones has been ordered to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars in damages for his lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting that killed 26 people, mostly children.
Musk, who closed his buyout of Twitter in late October, did not make clear whether the bans to be lifted by the poll were permanent suspensions or temporary ones.
The future of content moderation on Twitter has become an urgent concern, with major advertisers keeping away from the site after a failed relaunch earlier this month saw a proliferation of fake accounts, causing embarrassment.
Meanwhile the teams in charge of keeping nefarious activity off the site have been gutted, victims of Musk-led layoffs that saw half of total employees leave the company.
John Wihbey, a media professor at Northeastern University, speculated that all the chaos might be because Musk is seeking to "buy himself time.""Regulators are certainly going to come after him, both in Europe and maybe the United States... and therefore a lot of what he's doing is trying to frame those fights," Wihbey said.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Usain Bolt named ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador
PM visits martyred Customs official's residence in Abbottabad
Ethiopian Special envoy urges Lahore's traders fraternity to join trade delegati ..
Kazakhstan envoy meets commissioner
Safari Park to welcome Madhubala elephant in May
2 ring leaders among 3 terrorists killed in Khyber operation
Govt committed to developing gems, jewelry sector: Minister
Punjab CM Maryam faces legal challenge for wearing police uniform
PTDC plans to organize two-day tourism expo
COP29 host says deal on climate aid essential but offers few details
SC orders end of encroachments in Karachi
Nazish Jahangir denies viral screenshots, calls them fake
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
PDMA predicts gusty wind, rain with thunder, hails
2 days ago -
Iranian president Raisi given guard of honour at PM House
3 days ago -
Intellectuals, writers accolades Naseer Mirza on his literary contribution
4 days ago -
Bahawalpur Adabi Sangat hosts memorable mushaira
4 days ago -
Cattle farming vital to alleviate poverty in rural areas
4 days ago -
Pakistan: A land of tourism, archeological wonders
4 days ago
-
Transforming education sector: from job hunters to job creators
6 days ago -
Amjad Bobby remembered on 19th death anniversary for timeless contributions to music
10 days ago -
Legendary actor Nadeem’s 26 films released on Eid-ul-Fitr days in 50 years
11 days ago -
Besant Hall Cultural Centre to celebrate evening with Sanam Marvi on 26 April
11 days ago -
Radio Bahawalpur presents program “Eidi Shidi”
14 days ago -
Radio Bahawalpur to broadcast Eid programs
16 days ago