The Ban on Kanye’s Twitter Account Was Not Lifted

The ban on the Twitter account used by Ye, the rapper and fashion designer formerly known as Kanye West, was not lifted by the company this week, despite reports circulating widely on Friday that it was. His account was never banned in the first place.

Twitter took a different action two weeks ago, “restricting” his account after he posted an antisemitic tweet. It also removed the offending message.

Restricted accounts cannot post or interact on the platform, but remain visible on the service, including past tweets that did not violate the company’s rules. A ban or suspension means the account and its tweets are entirely removed.

After Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, completed his purchase of the social media platform Thursday night, several news outlets published reports that the rapper was allowed back on the platform or that his account was visible again.

Twitter did not immediately respond to questions about whether the restriction was still in place. Ye has not posted since his account was restricted.

The belief that Mr. Musk would welcome Ye back to the platform despite his antisemitic comments reflects the challenges Twitter could face if, as expected, the company pursues a more relaxed content moderation strategy. Mr. Musk has described his approach as: “If in doubt, let the speech exist.”

source: nytimes.com