The EU has threatened Twitter owner Elon Musk with sanctions after several journalists covering the company had their accounts abruptly suspended.
Reporters for the New York Times, CNN and the Washington Post were among those locked out of their accounts.
EU commissioner Vera Jourova warned that the EU’s Digital Services Act requires the respect of media freedom.
“Elon Musk should be aware of that. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon,” she tweeted.
She said: “News about arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is worrying.
“[The] EU’s Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. This is reinforced under our Media Freedom Act.”
Mr Musk tweeted that accounts which he claimed engaged in doxxing – a term to describe to the release of private information online about individuals – receive a temporary seven-day suspension.
“Same doxxing rules apply to ‘journalists’ as to everyone else,” he tweeted.
A Twitter spokeswoman earlier told tech website The Verge that the ban was related to the live sharing of location data.
Mr Musk took control of Twitter in October in a $44bn deal.
