Twitter introduced, then hastily repealed, new terms prohibiting links to competing social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Mastodon. This follows the earlier blocking of Mastodon links on the site.
The new terms were introduced on Sunday, December 18, 2022, in tweets from Twitter Support. But the tweets, along with the page describing the new terms, were deleted hours later.
However, cached versions of the tweets and the policy page were still available, which MUO was able to retrieve. The original tweets from Twitter Support read, “We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow certain social media platforms to be promoted on Twitter for free.”
A follow-up tweet said: “Specifically, we will remove accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms and content containing 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 URLs to the sites or provide their profile credentials. Link aggregators such as Linktr.ee and Lnk.bio were also banned.
Here are examples of messages that could cause you trouble under this policy:
- “Follow me @username on Instagram”.
- “Username@mastodon.social”.
- “Check out my profile on Facebook – facebook.com/username.
Additionally, accounts that primarily promoted content on other social media platforms were suspended. Those who violated the policy would face temporarily locked accounts that required them to delete tweets that violated the new policy or change their display name if the competitor’s username was included. Those who repeat would be permanently banned.
However, paid advertisements for these platforms would be permitted.
You can see the cached version of the terms page for yourself on the version archived on the Wayback Machine.
Why did Twitter reverse course?
Twitter may have turned the tide of politics due to the backlash. 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 had his Twitter account restored, Trump instead snubbed Twitter for Truth Social.
In an apparent response to the controversy, Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted: “Going forward there will be a vote for major policy changes. Apologies. This will not happen again.”
The attempted ban comes just days after Twitter introduced a new policy banning live location sharing, which resulted in the banning of the ElonJet account, along with some journalists reporting on the ban.
More changes coming to Twitter
With so many unannounced changes to Twitter, it’s likely the social media platform will continue to evolve rapidly under its new leadership. However, that doesn’t mean that every change will be popular or last more than a few hours.
