BOSTON — Elon Musk said Sunday that Twitter would permanently suspend any account on the platform that impersonates another.
The social network’s new owner issued the warning after some celebrities changed their display name on Twitter to his, in reaction to the billionaire’s decision to charge $8 a month for verified accounts.
“Going forward, all Twitter accounts that engage in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended,” Musk wrote.
“Twitter was issuing warnings before the suspensions, but with the new widespread verification, there will be no more warnings,” he said.
In fact, “any name change” would result in the temporary loss of the certification hook, the world’s richest man said.
Actress Kathy Griffin notably saw her account suspended on Sunday for changing her pseudonym to “Elon Musk”.
Actress Valérie Bertinelli did the same — posting a series of tweets supporting the Democratic candidates on Saturday, before reverting to her real name.
$8 verified accounts are Musk’s way of democratizing the service, he claims.
On Saturday, an update to the Twitter app for iOS devices listed on Apple’s App Store specified that users who “sign up now” for the new “Twitter Blue with verification” can get the blue hook at next to their name.