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Business News/ News / World/  ‘Press freedom cannot be switched on, off’: Germany warns Elon Musk on journalists' Twitter suspension
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‘Press freedom cannot be switched on, off’: Germany warns Elon Musk on journalists' Twitter suspension

The German Foreign Office on Friday therefore shared screenshots of of the accounts of journalists suspended by Twitter

Twitter suspends accounts of journalists covering Elon Musk. (AP)Premium
Twitter suspends accounts of journalists covering Elon Musk. (AP)

Twitter on Thursday suspended accounts of journalists who had posted about its new owner Elon Musk. The Tesla Chief took over the micro blogging platform Twitter in October for $44 billion, and has triggered several overhaul and changes in policies since. 

In the latest of Elon Musk's controversial moves, prominent journalists all over the world found that their Twitter accounts have been suspended. What was common between them? They had ‘criticised’ the new owner Elon Musk. 

The German Foreign Office on Friday therefore shared screenshots of of the accounts of journalists suspended by Twitter. The German authorities warned that suspending these accounts was unacceptable and that it should be revoked. 

Another senior government official in the  German government also states that they would quit the micro-blogging platform. "If this continues, I will leave this platform," he added, posting a link to the government's official account on open-source, decentralised rival Mastodon.

"Press freedom cannot be switched on and off on a whim," the ministry wrote on its official Twitter account. "The journalists below can no longer follow us, comment and criticise. We have a problem with that, @Twitter."

The German government has said it is reviewing its use of the platform in the light of changes to its moderation policy introduced by the Tesla mogul.

"Arbitrary locking of journalists' accounts is unacceptable," added deputy government spokesperson Wolfgang Buechner in another Tweet.

Meanwhile, the European Union on Friday warned the Tesla Chief Elon Musk that Twitter could be subject to sanctions under a future media law after the "worrying" suspension of several journalists from the messaging platform.

"News about arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is worrying. EU's Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. This is reinforced under our Media Freedom Act," EU commissioner Vera Jourova posted on Twitter.

"Elon Musk should be aware of that. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon."

(With inputs from agencies)

 

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Published: 16 Dec 2022, 04:25 PM IST
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