Reddit has temporarily banned one of its communities – and removed another – after X owner Elon Musk claimed comments made by the site’s users about his employees were breaking the law.
The r/WhitePeopleTwitter subreddit, which typically invites people to share funny posts from X, has been banned for 72 hours after some users posted comments calling for violence against members of the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
They were responding to reports which suggested some Doge staff have been granted access to sensitive personal information of millions of Americans.
Musk – who frequently champions his commitment to free speech – shared a post on X containing the comments, and stated: “they have broken the law”.
The subreddit was banned soon afterwards.
Reddit declined to comment, but directed the BBC to a public post it had made following the ban.
“Over the last few days, we’ve seen an increase in content in several communities that violate Reddit Rules,” the post reads.
“Debate and dissent are welcome on Reddit – threats and doxing are not.”
Musk has previously criticised legal action being taken against people for making comments online.
In 2024, he responded to a video of a person purportedly being arrested for offensive comments online by asking “is this Britain or the Soviet Union?”.
Imran Ahmed, head of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) said there was “rich irony” in Musk’s comments.
“It is always one rule for Elon, another rule for everyone else,” he said.
“Oh, he’s about freedom alright – the freedom to do whatever he wants, no matter the cost to people, their families, and the fundamentals of democracy.”
Musk sued the CCDH in 2023 over claims it took “unlawful” steps to access data from X after it claimed hate speech had risen on the platform.
A US judge dismissed the case in 2024.
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