Elon Musk says that Twitter will be permanently suspending verified users who impersonate other people, as a wave of accounts have changed their names to "Elon Musk" while making fun of the platform's new owner.
"Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended," Musk began. "Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning. This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue."
He clarified: "Any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark."
Comedian Kathy Griffin is one of the most noteworthy names to have been suspended from the platform for impersonating Musk in recent days.
The move comes as Musk has faced backlash for his decision to charge $7.99 per month for a verification checkmark on the platform. He is also being criticized for having let go a massive chunk of Twitter's workforce. The firings resulted in a class-action lawsuit that cites the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The law requires at least a 60 days notice prior to such massive layoffs.
After the lawsuit was filed, Bloomberg reports that the company is asking some of the fired employees to return to work.
“Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day,” Musk tweeted in defense of the move on Friday. “Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required.”
Check out Musk's recent tweets below.
[Via]
