Social media platform Twitter Inc will remove accounts that have been inactive for several years, CEO Elon Musk announced in a tweet on Monday, saying that the action is “important to free up abandoned handles.”
Twitter’s billionaire owner in a separate tweet said inactive accounts will be archived, Musk did not add any details on when the process will begin. It was not immediately known if or how Twitter users will be able to access archived accounts.
Musk also said users on the micro-blogging platform could see a drop in follower count, as several inactive accounts might get removed.
According to Twitter’s policy, users should log in to their account at least once every 30 days to avoid permanent removal due to inactivity.
Earlier this month, Musk “threatened” to reassign National Public Radio’s Twitter account to another company, after the public broadcaster stopped posting content to its 52 official Twitter feeds in protest against a Twitter label that implied government involvement in its editorial content.
Twitter last month removed the legacy verified blue tick from the profile of thousands of people, including celebrities, journalists and prominent politicians. Musk has made account verification a part of Twitter’s Blue subscription, a move he said would tackle the issue of bot accounts.
Meanwhile, a California federal judge on Monday dismissed a proposed class action accusing Twitter Inc of targeting female employees for layoffs after Musk acquired the company last year, but said plaintiffs would be allowed to amend the lawsuit to add more details.
LinkedIn layoffs
Professional networking platform LinkedIn says it’s laying off more than 700 workers and shuttering its China jobs app, in the latest round of tech industry downsizing.
LinkedIn blamed “shifts in customer behaviour and slower revenue growth” for the cuts, which it announced in a blogpost late on Monday.
LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, indicated that the net number of job losses could be less than 500.
As part of its strategic shakeup, LinkedIn would be “opening up more than 250 new roles” in its operations team as well as new business and account management teams starting May 15.