Twitter Quietly Walks Back Controversial Ban on Rival Social Media Links
Twitter removes a restrictive policy that temporarily bans users from posting links or handles to rival platforms like Facebook and Mastodon. The company now indicates it will only suspend accounts created solely to promote other social networks.
Twitter faces massive backlash after quietly deleting a controversial policy that prohibits users from posting links or handles to rival social networks. The company removes the policy page and deletes tweets that announced the ban on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Mastodon, reversing a decision made during the FIFA World Cup final.
The original rules prevent users from typing out their handles or sharing links to their profiles on competing platforms, including link-in-bio tools like Linktree. Violations result in temporary account locks, and users with banned links in their bios face immediate suspension until they remove the offending content.
Following widespread criticism, Elon Musk adjusts the approach by stating the platform will only suspend accounts created specifically to advertise other social networks. The official Twitter Safety account even posts a poll asking users if the company should formulate a policy against these purely promotional accounts, though no official rule update appears yet.