Twitter Bans Then Backtracks On Sharing Links To Rival Social Media Platforms

Twitter has once again announced a policy change and then rapidly backtracked, following a surprising action that happened before the updated terms of service were revealed. This time around, the matter had to do with the banned "Join Mastodon" account and a new policy that prohibits the "free promotion of certain social media platforms" on Elon Musk's newly-purchased Twitter. This appears to be something of a trend at the new Twitter 2.0, one where something happens without explanation, then an official Twitter account reveals related changes to policy some hours later.

This trend first happened in early December 2022 when multiple accounts that tracked jets belonging to Elon Musk and other billionaires were suspended, as well as the personal account of the person who made them. Not too long after, Twitter announced an updated policy on doxing that prohibits real-time location sharing, the reason the jet-tracking accounts were suspended. The latest policy change not only impacted the sharing of links to some other platforms like Facebook but also the sharing of one's handle on those platforms — even if a link wasn't included.

The policy update was announced in a tweet thread by the Twitter Support account on Sunday, which said that Twitter would suspend "accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms and content," though only some competing sites were on the list of prohibited destinations. Those platforms were Mastodon, which explains why the Join Mastodon account was suspended, as well as Facebook, Instagram, Tribel, Truth Social, Post, and Nostr. It's unclear why the policy only covers these platforms; Twitter specifically says that users are allowed to post their usernames and links to any other social media platforms.

We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter.

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) December 18, 2022

The changes were detailed in a Help Center document titled "Promotion of alternative social platforms policy," which also provided examples of the kinds of tweets that could get an account temporarily suspended. In addition to the social media platforms listed, Twitter said it would also squash attempts to get around prohibition by also banning links to link aggregators like Ink.bio and Linktr.ee; any other means to get around the restriction would also be considered in violation of the policy and likewise lead to a ban, the company warned. A simple tweet that signposted where to find you would be all it took to get in trouble — including a screenshot of a post on a banned platform that has your username visible.

It was all apparently an effort to prevent users from easily leaving Twitter, as the company is still allowing links to banned platforms if they're part of a paid promotion or ad. Unsurprisingly, based on the tweeted responses to the announcement, most users were unhappy with the restriction, particularly content creators who have pointed out that the limitation makes Twitter far less useful for them.

Perhaps unsurprisingly — given how we've seen Twitter operate in recent weeks, implementing rules and then rapidly retracting them in the face of user fury — Twitter's heavy-handed approach to linking out was short-lived. The @TwitterSupport thread announcing the policy change was deleted, while the support page explaining what would, and would not, lead to a ban was unceremoniously removed. The link now leads to a 404 page on Twitter's help pages. 

Elon Musk referred obliquely to the outcry in a tweet of his own, conceding that the policy change hadn't been handled well. "Going forward," the Twitter CEO said, "there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won't happen again."

Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won't happen again.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022

Still, that didn't stop other high-profile users of the site from weighing in. Elon Musk's own mother, Maye Musk, had argued in favor of the policy. "This makes absolute sense," she tweeted. "When I give a talk for a corporation, I don't promote other corporations. If I did, I would be fired on the spot and never booked again. Is that hard to understand?"