Indian microblogging site Koo's Twitter handle suspended

This isn't democracy. This is a strong need to exercise power & control. And shouldn't be allowed, the co-founder said

Twitter on Friday suspended the eminence account of Indian microblogging and social networking site, Koo. This comes amid the ongoing suspension of the accounts of prominent global journalists.

Reacting to the suspension, Koo co-founder Mayank Bidawatka took to Twitter and said that “Twitter is a publisher not a platform anymore.” He also pointed at the sudden removal of #ElonsDestroyingTwitter hasgtag from the trending section.

In a series of tweets criticising Musk's Twitter, Bidawatka said the recent developments in the platform, he also added that posting an information that was already publicly available was not "doxxing."

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“This isn't democracy. This is a strong need to exercise power & control. And shouldn't be allowed. We need to speak up!” the co-founder added.

He also suggested that Koo was the best alternative to Twitter.

“We run Koo and journalists should just migrate. Migrate tools are available. Koo is the best alternative to Twitter.”

This is not the first such incident, Musk has been on the receiving end of severe backlash over his actions of account suspension.

Journalists from CNN, The New York Times and the Washington Post were cut off from the platform without warning.

"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."

Musk said in October that he would form a council to advise him on policy matters before making changes to the company’s content moderation policies. The council has not materialised. Recently, Musk disbanded a trust and safety advisory group that had guided Twitter on thorny issues like harassment and child exploitation.

“I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk tweeted in April, shortly after announcing his intent to buy the company.