Twitter has suspended two accounts allegedly used by Russian intelligence officers to share information obtained in hacks.
The Guccifer 2.0 and DCLeaks accounts were both suspended on Saturday, one day after special counsel Robert Mueller alleged in an indictment that the accounts were run by Russian military officers.
A Twitter spokesman told The San Diego Union-Tribune that the “account has been suspended for being connected to a network of accounts previously suspended for operating in violation of our rules.” He did not comment further.
The Guccifer 2.0 account was briefly suspended in 2016 after it released contact information for nearly 200 current and former members of Congress. Both accounts have been inactive for at least 18 months. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]Twitter has steeply increased the number of suspensions it’s dolling out amid criticism over harassment and fake accounts.
Twitter suspended over 70 million accounts in May and June, and has booted profiles at a similar pace so far this month, according to data obtained by The Washington Post.
The rate of suspensions has doubled since October when Twitter began to receive heightened scrutiny after reports on how much its platform was manipulated by Russian trolls seeking to intervene in the 2016 election. But the platform has long been criticized for its use by terrorists and their sympathizers, as well as prolific abuse and harassment.
Some have speculated that Twitter has been reluctant to kick users, even fake ones off, out of concern of hurting its user growth numbers, which would likely impact its bottom line and stock value. – READ MORE
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