Twitter conveniently reveals a location sharing policy amid Elonjet controversy
- Twitter has employed a method internally referred to as 'visibility filtering.'
- Approximately half of Twitter's workforce were let go after Musk acquired the company.
- During the Elonjet debate, Twitter conveniently makes a location sharing policy public.
In spite of claiming that an account that tracked his private jet constituted a 'clear personal safety threat,' Elon Musk made a commitment in November to support free expression by declining to take action. Today, that account was suspended. then resurrected then stopped again. What the future holds for @ElonJet is unknown, but it's probably related to a new set of policies from Twitter Safety governing how it handles accounts that give location information for other users.
Sharing another person's live location is now restricted unless it is tied to a 'public engagement or event,' such as a concert or political gathering, according to a series of tweets describing the new policy. According to the warning, there is a greater risk of physical harm when someone tweets about another person's live location.
We will no longer allow accounts to share other people's live locations, and we will delete any Tweets that do so. The author of the post makes it quite clear that these rules only apply to 'someone else's' property. You can still tweet about your location.
However, historical location data is only permitted if 'a reasonable period of time has passed, such that the subject is no longer at risk for physical harm.' That clause in the policy might have made room for an account like @Elonjet, which, despite being briefly reinstated this afternoon, is currently suspended along with Jack Sweeney, the college student who manages @Elonjet, and his personal accounts.
Following a recent incident involving a stalker and the billionaire's son, Musk has also stated that 'legal action' would be taken against Sweeney and 'organisations who advocated harm to my family.'