Elon Musk blocks Signal used by government officials

The social network X (formerly Twitter), owned by Elon Musk, has started blocking links to Signal.me, a short URL service from Signal.

Here's What We Know

Signal allows users to share direct links for communication through this secure messenger. The blocking applies to both private messages and public posts and user profiles. This was first noticed by the blog Disruptionist.

X is blocking links to Signal. Image: TechCrunch

This change comes amid the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) policy of cutting funding to federal agencies such as NASA and the US Department of Education. As a result, many government officials have turned to Signal for secure information sharing, including to expose potential breaches.

About 10,000 government employees have already been laid off as a result of DOGE's actions, which seeks to reduce government spending and close agencies, including USAID.

TechCrunch tried to share the link to Signal.me via X, but received a message: "Something went wrong, but don't worry - let's try again." In addition, an attempt to send a private message with this link resulted in an error: "This request appears to be automated. To protect our users from spam and malicious activity, we are unable to perform this action at this time."

Elon Musk often calls himself a supporter of freedom of speech, but at the same time he is criticised for attacking the media and people who disagree with his actions. He is also accused of blocking opponents' accounts on X. TechCrunch has reached out to X for comment, but has not yet heard back.

Source: TechCrunch