News of the Cyber World

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EU Issues Threat to Elon Musk After Twitter Suspends Mainstream Journalists

The European Union on Friday warned Twitter owner CEO Elon Musk after the platform suspended several journalists for violating his new policy around doxxing.

Vera Jourova, a European Commission vice president, wrote on Twitter that the alleged “arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is worrying,” adding that an EU regulatory act “requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights.”

“This is reinforced under our #MediaFreedomAct. @elonmusk should be aware of that,” Jourova wrote. “There are red lines. And sanctions, soon.”

Jourova did not elaborate on what sanctions either Musk or Twitter will face. Under the EU’s Digital Services Act, which she cited, companies can be fined 6 percent of their global annual revenues for breaches.

Around the same time, France’s industry minister, Roland Lescure, wrote Friday that he would stop using his account. “Following the suspension of journalists’ accounts by @elonmusk, I am suspending all activity on @Twitter until further notice,” he wrote.
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Journalists who were banned include New York Times technology reporter Ryan Mac, Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell, former Vox reporter Aaron Rupar, CNN reporter Donie O’Sullivan, and Mashable’s Matt Binder. Former ESPN and MSNBC host Keith Olbermann was also banned.
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It does not appear that those five accounts were permanently banned. Hours after the accounts were suspended, Musk posted a poll asking whether those accounts should be reinstated.