Twitter suspends Bitcoin Cash account @bitcoin for deceptive handle
The account was operating under the deceptive @bitcoin handle, thus violating Twitter rules.
Celebrated by many a Bitcoin supporter and derided by the Bitcoin Cash crowd, Twitter suspended the Bitcoin Cash @bitcoin account.
Anyone entering the world of cryptocurrency would be understandably confused by this situation - and this is the point. Following the forking of Bitcoin Cash from Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash supporters have done everything in their power to sway users and entice them to the forked version of Bitcoin, using a website called bitcoin.com (the real bitcoin website is bitcoin.org), providing wallets for Bitcoin Cash whilst giving the impression they are Bitcoin wallets, and using the Twitter handle @bitcoin instead of sticking to the more accurate handle, @bitcoincash.
The reaction to the account suspension is somewhat predictable. Bitcoin Cash supporters are generally arguing that it is a violation of free speech, whereas Bitcoin supporters are celebrating the move to suspend the account due to the deceptive practices involved in assuming another's identity. Others point out that it is a sort of censorship, albeit against a sort of propaganda, that would be better handled simply through education of the public by the community via free speech.
As a corporation, Twitter ultimately can decide which accounts should be suspended and which shouldn't. It isn't a government agency, therefore it isn't government censorship. Numerous complaints were filed against @bitcoin for usurping a name that is not true to their identity, therefore Twitter is perfectly within their rights to suspend the account. It does again, however, point to the problem of centralised agencies deciding for the public what is true and what isn't. Anyone who spends even a few minutes investigating online can find out that the account was indeed not the true bitcoin.org account. The same can be said for the myriad fake ETH giveaway accounts spamming cryptocurrency followers all over Twitter.
The reality is, in this case, this isn't really a free speech issue. Bitcoin Cash was deceptively using an account name intended to deceive users into believing it to be the "real" bitcoin. Instead of attempting to lure over hapless noobs, perhaps it is time for Bitcoin Cash to grow up and use a handle that reflects their true identity.
*This is not professional trading advice - it's just my opinion!
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image source:
https://twitter.com/SatoshiLite