2 years ago
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Image source, Getty Images
By Tom Gerken
Technology reporter
Twitter has blocked its users from tweeting oregon posting immoderate links to its societal media rival Mastodon.
Mastodon is divided into groups, called servers, based connected galore topics including the UK, snooker, and security.
Twitter has blocked links to immoderate of the largest servers which users would join, including the astir fashionable "social" channel.
And Twitter is besides stopping users from adding links to their Mastodon relationship successful their bios - calling them "malware".
There is perfectly nary grounds to enactment the proposition that Mastodon contains malware - malicious bundle that tin harm your device.
Mastodon said it gained hundreds of thousands of users successful November, with immoderate Twitter users seeking alternate platforms.
The aforesaid effect occurs if the nexus is posted successful the determination oregon website field
The BBC has been incapable to station links to the astir fashionable mastodon.social server, arsenic good arsenic much than 10 others - including a server for journalists and different for radical successful the UK.
But not each links to Mastodon person been blocked, and determination are ways astir it.
The BBC's exertion exertion Zoe Kleinman was capable to successfully tweet a notation to her Mastodon account - zsk@mastodonapp.uk - due to the fact that it is not a clickable link.
A consequent effort to crook the notation into a clickable nexus to her Mastodon leafage cannot beryllium posted to Twitter.
It is not wide however galore Mastodon servers person been blocked connected Twitter, oregon why.
Users attempting to station links to blocked servers volition person an mistake connection instead, which says: "We can't implicit this petition due to the fact that this nexus has been identified by Twitter oregon our partners arsenic being perchance harmful."
As good arsenic blocking definite links to Mastodon, Twitter has taken enactment against its rival's main account.
The Twitter relationship @joinmastodon, which advertised the tract and its features, was unexpectedly suspended connected Thursday alongside those of respective notable journalists covering Twitter proprietor Elon Musk.
A Twitter spokeswoman told tech website The Verge that the journalists' prohibition was related to the unrecorded sharing of determination data.
This came aft Mr Musk vowed to sue the proprietor of a Twitter relationship that tracked his backstage jet. This relationship has besides been suspended.
While nary crushed has been fixed for the Mastodon suspension, determination is simply a coincidence successful timing - successful the fewer hours beforehand, @joinmastodon shared a nexus showing wherever the idiosyncratic tracking Mr Musk's pitchy tin beryllium recovered connected the rival societal media site.
Screenshot captured from the Internet Archive, conscionable a fewer hours earlier the leafage was suspended
Will Moy, main enforcement astatine fact-checking foundation Full Fact, said helium knew of "no reason" for determination to beryllium "a wide artifact connected Mastodon".
"It is concerning that a vitally important societal media institution similar Twitter appears to beryllium making erratic and unaccountable decisions that impact what we tin each spot and stock online," helium said.
"If we're superior astir defending our ideology and recognising the almighty power that societal media tin person successful shaping our antiauthoritarian debate, we person to beryllium superior astir holding that powerfulness to account."
The BBC has approached Twitter and Mastodon for comment.
English (US)