Twitter has reportedly apologized for blocking a number of accounts critical of the communist Chinese government ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Reuters reports that Twitter Inc. has apologized for suspending a number of accounts critical of the Chinese government just days ahead of the 30th anniversary of the massacre of protesters at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. The company posted a statement to the company’s Public Policy feed stating that a “number of accounts” were suspended in an attempt to remove accounts that were engaging in “platform manipulation.”
The company stated: “Some of these were involved in commentary about China. These accounts were not mass reported by the Chinese authorities – this was a routine action on our part.” The company added that while performing these actions, they can sometimes “catch false positives or we make errors.”
The company stated: “We apologize. We’re working today to ensure we overturn any errors but that we remain vigilant in enforcing our rules for those who violate them.” Twitter came under fire for its actions from a number of prominent individuals including U.S. Senator Marco Rubio who accused the company of being a Chinese government censor.
.@twitter has apparently suspended a large number accounts that are critical of #China including accounts of people outside of China. Twitter has become a Chinese govt censor. https://t.co/TsDQZs7juq
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 1, 2019
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
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