Twitter owner Elon Musk drew anger and stern warnings from the UN and EU on Friday after suspending the accounts of half a dozen prominent journalists — accusing them of endangering his family.
Journalists from CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post were cut off from the platform without warning, provoking the newest controversy since Musk took over the company on October 27.
“News about arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is worrying,” EU commissioner Vera Jourova posted on Twitter, warning the influential platform could face hefty fines through European laws.
“Elon Musk should be aware of that. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon,” she added.
The spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres called it a “dangerous precedent at a time when journalists all over the world are facing censorship, physical threats and even worse.”
The latest controversy began when Musk on Wednesday suspended @elonjet, an account that tracked flights of his private jet.
Musk said the move was necessary after a car in Los Angeles carrying one of his children was followed by “a crazy stalker” and seemed to blame the tracking of his jet for the incident.
Some of the journalists had reported on the affair, including tweets linking to the suspended @elonjet account, which Musk said amounted to “assassination coordinates” against he and his family.
In a chat hosted live on Twitter, Musk provided no evidence for his claim but told some of the suspended reporters that on Twitter “everyone’s going to be treated the same… they’re not special because you’re a journalist.”
Pressed further on his allegations, Musk ended the conversation. Twitter Spaces, the feature where the chat took place, was then suspended.
Media organizations criticized the move sharply and opened the door to re-evaluating their relationship with Twitter, which has become an essential tool for journalism over the past decade.