Twitter stops “free promotion” of Facebook and Instagram accounts

18 December, 2022

Twitter has announced it will be blocking accounts that post links to rival social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Donald Trump’s Truth Social.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Twitter users were unable to share clickable links to fledgling social media platform Mastodon, with Twitter claiming they were “potentially harmful” to users.

Today (December 18) the official Twitter Support account shared updated rules that will stop the “free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter.”

“Specifically, we will remove accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms and content that contains links or usernames for the following platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr and Post,” the thread explained, with TikTok a notable exception to these new restrictions. 

“We still allow cross-posting content from any social media platform. Posting links or usernames to social media platforms not listed above are also not in violation of this policy,” Twitter added. 

A blog post explains that “accounts that are used for the main purpose of promoting content on another social platform may be suspended” and adds that posts about 3rd-party social media link aggregators such as linktr.ee are also banned. 

A first offence will see users hit with temporary suspensions while repeated violations will see accounts permanently banned. 

It comes as Elon Musk’s Twitter continues to police the type of content users can post.

Last week, Musk blocked a number of accounts that had allegedly written about him, before reinstating them following a public poll. A spokesperson told The Verge that the bans were related to the live sharing of location data, or “doxxing”.

Musk had also threatened to sue the owner of Twitter account dedicated to tracking his private jet, claiming any account revealing people’s real-time locations presented “a physical safety violation“.

Musk’s high-profile purchase of Twitter took place in October – a move that has since continued to generate headlines and controversy.

The entrepreneur spent weeks wrestling with a paid verification system and banning people for impersonating him. In the wake of the executive firings, the site was rumoured to be on the brink of collapse, before Musk allegedly told the remaining staff that they must “work long hours at high intensity” or leave the company.

 

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