Twitter suspended — then reinstated — an account tracking Elon Musk’s private plane, fueling questions about the platform’s commitment to free speech.
The bot-operated account @ElonJet launched in June 2020 was not visible Wednesday morning. In its place was a message stating, “Twitter suspends accounts that violate the Twitter Rules.” By Wednesday evening, the account was back online.
It wasn’t immediately clear what rule was violated. Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. When service was restored to @ElonJet, it came with an explanation from Twitter Safety stating “We’ve updated our Private Information policy to prohibit sharing someone else’s live location in most cases.”
The suspension came more than a month after Musk, who purchased Twitter in October, wrote in a Nov. 6 tweet that his commitment to free speech “extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk.”
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The @ElonJet page was started by college student Jack Sweeney. Musk offered Sweeney $5,000 to take down the account in January, according to the website Protocol.
“Can you take it down?” Musk reportedly asked in a direct message. “It’s a security risk.”
Sweeney reportedly made a counteroffer asking for $50,000 and a Tesla, the electric car company owned by Musk. The 51-year-old entrepreneur is said to have declined.
After having @ElonJet restored, Sweeney tweeted Musk asking if his personal account @Jxck Sweeney, which had also been shut down, could be restored as well. It remained suspended for at least half an hour after Sweeney’s other account was reestablished.
[ Elon Musk threatens to sue Twitter leakers, reporter says ]
Musk, a self-described free-speech absolutist, purchased Twitter for $44 billion after complaining of what he described as unfair safety measures put in place to limit the spread of hate speech and misinformation.
On Monday, he dissolved the company’s Trust and Safety Council. Uncertainty also appears to have rattled investors in Tesla, which has seen its stock value drop by 28% since Musk took control of Twitter, according to CNBC. Forbes reported Tuesday that Musk is no longer the world’s wealthiest person.
