Elon Musk asserts that Twitter accounts that engage in impersonation without clearly indicating that they are satire would be permanently suspended.
He declared that Twitter would no longer offer a warning before suspending accounts, as it had done previously.
A handful of accounts that insulted the billionaire by changing their name to Elon Musk have been suspended or placed behind a warning banner.
The new billionaire owner of Twitter assumed control of the company late last month.
At the end of the previous week, he laid off roughly half of the company’s employees.
He has also revealed plans to offer verified blue tick status for purchase.
Mr. Musk tweeted the following regarding the new policy regarding spoof accounts: “Previously, we offered a warning before the suspension, but now that we are implementing widespread verification, there will be no notice.”
He said, “any name change will result in the temporary removal of the verified checkmark.”
Several accounts that had changed their identity to the new Twitter owner have been suspended or placed behind a warning banner, including those of Kathy Griffin and Chris Kluwe.
Other accounts, including one parodying former President of the United States Donald Trump by comedian Tim Heidecker, have yet to be suspended.
Mr. Musk has previously stated that he opposes permanent restrictions on Twitter, including the account of Mr. Trump. Mr. Musk warned last week that banned accounts would not be resurrected until “a clear method to do so” was in place. He emphasized that he was not banning an account that tracked his private jet.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that Twitter is delaying the delivery of verification checkmarks for its new service subscribers until after Tuesday’s midterm elections. This weekend, the website app for the social media platform began providing an update that will cost $8 (£7) each month for its blue, verified checkmark.
Friday, the billionaire stated that Twitter was losing more than $4 million per day and that he had “no choice” but to lay off around half of the company’s 7,500 employees.
The changes, together with Mr. Musk’s ardent backing for free expression, have sparked rumors that Twitter may scale back its content control efforts.
Mr. Musk has stressed, though, that the company’s stance on dangerous substances remains “completely unchanged.” In an open letter, UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned Twitter that it had a responsibility to avoid propagating harmful content.
