New York (CNN Business)Twitter will no longer accept advertisements from state-controlled media outlets, the company announced Monday, hours after it joined with Facebook to take down a covert Chinese social media campaign that sought to undermine pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
“We want to protect healthy discourse and open conversation,” Twitter said in a statement posted on its website.
Twitter said the new policy would only apply to “news media entities that are either financially or editorially controlled by the state.” While state media cannot pay for advertisements that would amplify their message, they will be allowed to continue posting on the platform. Twitter said the new restrictions do not apply to outlets funded by taxpayers, or independent public broadcasters.
