John Paul M. Joaquin Tech 12.16.2022 03:Dec AM EST

Twitter Blocks Links to Mastodon on Platform, Labels Them ‘Harmful’

Elon Musk and Twitter are really not fond of Mastodon.

The microblogging platform has recently been blocking links to Mastodon in an attempt to staunch the bleeding of users trying to jump ship following Musk's takeover.

Mastodon is one of the world's leading Twitter alternatives due to it letting users can sort of run their social networks thanks to it being open source.

Twitter v. Mastodon Link Blocking Details

Twitter was recently found to be blocking users from tweeting links to many major Mastodon servers during the same Tuesday evening that the platform suspended the accounts of journalists and Mastodon's own Twitter account.

According to The Verge, attempting to tweet too many Mastodon links will result in an error message saying that Twitter can't process the request to publish the tweet due to them being identified by Twitter or its partners as "potentially harmful."

Additionally, the publication found that Twitter is also blocking links to the original mastodon social server and more than ten other domains.

Tech Crunch mentioned that the "potentially harmful" identification happened as of 6:30 PM PT, with links to journa.host and others still working.

However, as of 8 PM PT, Twitter had also blocked links to journa.host and to more Mastodon servers.

Tweets aren't the only feature affected on the platform. Mastodon links that Twitter users added to their bios have also been blocked and disabled, with them being accompanied by a warning notice saying they may be unsafe.

Furthermore, the Twitter account encouraging other Twitter users to switch to Mastodon was suspended for "violating Twitter's rules," per CNET.

However, Twitter didn't clarify which of its rules and regulations the account broke. Additionally, Neither Twitter nor Mastodon representative didn't address the account's ban nor the blocking of Mastodon links.

Additionally, Mastodon's Twitter account was suspended on Dec. 15, with it happening as soon as the account tweeted a link to the Mastodon account of @ElonJet, the same one that tracks Elon Musk's jet on Twitter previously.

You may remember that @ElonJet's Twitter account was suspended for having violated "unspecified" Twitter rules. The platform also introduced a new policy that prohibits people from sharing the locations of another person live.

This new rule may have been made to prevent anyone from following in @ElonJet's footsteps.

Why Are People Switching To Mastodon?

Mastodon is an open-source Twitter alternative that lets people access a specialized version of the site usually themed by topic, called "instances."

These instances are run like a social network, making the users that create them similar to a social media platform owner.

Additionally, Mastodon's decentralized network means that no one has a say on what happens in one instance unless they're the owner or moderator.

Unfortunately, its decentralization can make things difficult for first-time users. Setting up an instance is complicated, and joining the platform can be overwhelming initially. Since users can set up their Instances, community guidelines vary from one instance to another.