As many people celebrated the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Twitter made several changes which may have landed the platform in hot water with the European Union.
IMPORTANT: @elonmusk's new policy preventing linking to competitors is in DIRECT VIOLATION of European Union rules.
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Penalty can be a fine of up to 20% of Twitter's annual revenuehttps://t.co/Wu1dU4JRn7 pic.twitter.com/cZWsl92npr
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) December 18, 2022
Twitter announced that it would adjust it’s policy to suspend accounts whose purpose is to promote other social media platforms.
While this change is still pending, the platform received criticism, for it’s decision to drop accounts which promoted other social media networks.
The ban includes links to Instagram, Truth social, Facebook, Mastodon including links like Linktree.
All social media apps used to promote content creators as well as business face a major pipeline ban due to the looming bombshell of a decision from Twitter.
Although Musk has some time before the European union clamps down to remedy any transgressions, their policy states:
To ensure that the new gatekeeper rules keep up with the fast pace of digital markets, the Commission will carry out market investigations. These will allow the Commission to:
qualify companies as gatekeepers
update dynamically the obligations for gatekeepers when necessary
design remedies to tackle systematic infringements of the Digital Markets Act rulesWhat will be the consequences of non-compliance?
Fines: of up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide annual turnover, or up to 20% in the event of repeated infringements.Periodic penalty payments: of up to 5% of the average daily turnover
Remedies
In case of systematic infringements of the DMA obligations by gatekeepers, additional remedies may be imposed on the gatekeepers after a market investigation. Such remedies will need to be proportionate to the offence committed. If necessary and as a last resort option, non-financial remedies can be imposed. These can include behavioural and structural remedies, e.g. the divestiture of (parts of) a business.
Twitter is now BANNING accounts that post links to other social media platforms. You're no longer even allowed to tweet out what your username is on other sites.
You basically need an attorney to let you know what you can and cannot tweet.
This is unprecedented censorship. pic.twitter.com/AkPdfhDuPs
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) December 18, 2022
It seems Twitter went back to the drawing board and deleted it’s new policy which banned links to other social media platforms.
In a series of twitter threads, Twitter outlined which rival sites users would be prohibited from tweeting links to.
While the issue of links to content garners attention, Musk has launched a polls asking users if he should resign as head of Twitter.
The poll currently has less than 4 hours until users know if Musk will step down or continue to steer the Twitter ship.
Should Musk step down as Twitter head, he would have done it in less than two months on the job.
Since taking over the platform in October Musk has been faced with both wins and losses on the support front.
From twitter trolls to Musk successfully clearing non active user accounts, the new Twitter head is fast moving on the decision pedal and this appears to be ruffling some feathers.
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