Twitter has suspended the account of several journalists in the United States, and according to its owner Elon Musk, this was in continuation of the social media platform's new anti-doxxing policy. The decision to suspend these accounts is being seen as raising more questions about how the platform’s moderation policy is being created and enforced. Here’s what has happened so far. Preparing for UPSC? Use CRACKUPSC20 code here to get an extra 20% discount on Indian Express subscription. So who all were suspended on Twitter? The saga began with the suspension of @ElonJet, an account run by 20-year-old university student Jack Sweeney, who would track the movements of Musk’s private jet using publicly available data. Sweeney also ran other accounts which tracked the jets of other billionaires such as Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. All of those accounts were suspended. The following day, accounts of six journalists who reported on the issue were suspended as well. This included Ryan Mac of The New York Times, Donie O’Sullivan from CNN, Drew Harwell of The Washington Post, independent journalists Aaron Rupar and Tony Webster, Matt Binder of Mashable, Micah Lee of The Intercept and the veteran sports commentator Keith Olbermann. The Twitter account for Mastodon, which has gained in popularity as an alternative to Twitter, was also suspended for allegedly tweeting a link to Musk’s live location. The journalists were given no explanation on why their accounts were suspended. Only later did Musk confirm it was because they had “allegedly” tweeted links to his live location and address, which many reporters said they had not done. But isn't Musk a self-professed “free speech absolutist”? Twitter’s owner had initially tweeted that the suspension of @ElonJet was in line with the new anti-doxxing policy, which now includes a clause against the posting of any “real-time live location of any person.” He wrote, “Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info. Posting locations someone traveled to on a slightly delayed basis isn’t a safety problem, so is ok.” He followed this up with an account of someone following his two-year-old son X’s car and trying to stop the car, assuming it was Elon who was in it. Incidentally, Musk also posted a video revealing the licence plate number of the alleged stalker, which many people pointed out was also revealing the private information of someone else. Last night, car carrying lil X in LA was followed by crazy stalker (thinking it was me), who later blocked car from moving & climbed onto hood. Legal action is being taken against Sweeney & organizations who supported harm to my family. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 15, 2022 After Sweeney’s suspension, concerns were raised about this new policy. For instance, some journalists like Mehdi Hasan pointed out that this could mean that one could not reveal where a president might be giving a speech or reveal details about a live protest, as it could be against the ‘doxxing’ policy. Musk then made an appearance in a Twitter Spaces audio discussion, which was hosted by Buzzfeed’s technology reporter Katie Notopoulos. He tried to justify the suspensions, insisting the reporters had tweeted a link to his address and real-time location — which many pointed out was not true. He also claimed that there would be no distinction between journalists and other people when it came to applying the anti-doxxing policy. “You doxx, you get suspended, end of story, that’s it,” he said. He also tweeted separately that “Criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not.” Notopoulos later tweeted that the Spaces crashed abruptly and that the recording for that was not saved either. However, others have shared screen-recordings of the discussion, including Musk’s explanation. It also appears some of the ‘banned’ journalists were able to join and speak in the Spaces discussion, such as The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell. Here is Elon’s full appearance in @katienotopoulos’ spaces with banned journalists tonight pic.twitter.com/1xPFtrVjf6 — Brennan Murphy (@brenonade) December 16, 2022 30min after Elon left the spaces was abruptly ended— the replay is also unavailable pic.twitter.com/0TKN58bIzO — Brennan Murphy (@brenonade) December 16, 2022 What is doxxing and what is Twitter’s new policy around it? Doxxing is basically the revealing of someone’s intimate information, where harassment is the intent. It is a popular and controversial tactic used against those with opposing political views and sometimes even celebrities and influencers have been doxxed with real-life consequences. In many cases, harassers have used this private information to send SWAT teams or armed police to the homes of many of the victims. This private information includes one’s address, phone number, financial information, etc. But some have argued that journalistic reports — especially on those running popular but anonymous accounts on social media — are examples of doxxing as well, which is not the case. Twitter’s policy now includes sharing the live location of any individual as a possible “serious safety and security risk,” and this is not allowed. The older version of the policy did not mention the live location aspect. The opening paragraphs for the policy on ‘private information’ which was updated as of December 2022, now read that users may not publish other people’s private information without “their express authorization and permission,” adding that “threatening to expose such information is also prohibited.” “However”, it notes, “we recognize that there are instances where users may share images or videos of private individuals, who are not public figures, as part of a newsworthy event or to further public discourse on issues or events of public interest. In such cases, we may allow the media to remain on the platform.” The policy goes on to describe revealing what information would be considered doxxing. This includes: * “Home address or physical location information, including street addresses, GPS coordinates or other identifying information related to locations that are considered private; * “Live location information, including information shared on Twitter directly or links to 3rd-party URL(s) of travel routes, actual physical location, or other identifying information that would reveal a person’s location, regardless if this information is publicly available.” Twitter defines “live” as real-time and/or same-day information where there is potential that the individual could still be at the named location. * Identity documents, including government-issued IDs and social security or other national identity numbers; * Contact information, including non-public personal phone numbers or email addresses; * Financial account information, including bank account and credit card details; * Other private information, including biometric data or medical records; * Media of private individuals without the permission of the person(s) depicted. Twitter also says that threatening to expose private information, sharing information that could help hack a user’s account, asking for “or offering a bounty or financial reward in exchange for posting someone’s private information,” is also not allowed. According to the policy, violation of these can result in the account getting locked and continued violations can result in a permanent suspension. But sharing anyone’s live location without express permission will lead to an automatic suspension, which is what happened with the journalists. Musk tweeted this is a 7-day suspension, and the users will get access back after this period.
