SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter on Thursday suspended the accounts of several prominent journalists who recently wrote about its new owner Elon Musk, with the billionaire tweeting that rules banning the publishing of personal information applied to all, including journalists.

Responding to a Tweet on the account suspensions, Musk, who has described himself as a free speech absolutist, tweeted: `Same doxxing rules apply to `journalists` as to everyone else, a reference to Twitter rules banning the sharing of personal information, called doxxing.

Musk`s tweet referred to Twitter`s Wednesday suspension of @elonjet, an account tracking his private jet in real time using data available in the public domain.

Musk had threatened legal action against the account`s operator, saying his son had been mistakenly followed bya `crazy stalker`.

It was unclear if all the journalists whose accounts were suspended had commented on or shared news about @elonjet.

`Criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not,` Musk tweeted.

Twitter did not say why the reporters` accounts were suspended.

`Nothing says free speech like suspending journalists who cover you,` Sarah Reese Jones of news commentary website PoliticusUSA said in a tweeted response to posts about the suspensions.

Checks at Twitter showed account suspensions included reporters from CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post as well as independent journalists.

`The impulsive and unjustified suspension of a number of reporters, including CNN`s Donie O`Sullivan, is concerning but not surprising,` the news organisation said in a tweet. `Twitter`s increasing instability and volatility should be of incredible concern for everyonewho uses the platform.

CNN said it has asked Twitter for an explanation of the suspension.

The New York Times said in a statement it also wanted answers from Twitter regarding the `questionable` suspension of journalist s.

`I have no idea what rules I purportedly broke,` independent journalist Aaron Rupar, whose Twitter account was suspended, wrote in a Substack post. `I haven`t heard anything from Twitter at all.

The European Union warned Musk on Friday that Twitter could be subject to sanctions under a future media law after the `worrying` suspension of several journalists from the platform.

`News about arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is worrying. EU`s Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. This is reinforced under our Media Freedom Act,` EU commissioner Vera Jourova tweeted. `Elon Musk should be aware of that.

There are red lines. And sanctions, soon.`-Agencies