An al-Qaida Twitter account has been suspended without explanation after the English-language social media account was used to post photographs of an executed French commando and threats to execute Kenyan hostages, according to a Jan. 26, 2013 report by Yahoo! News.
The timing of the suspension of the English-language al-Qaida Twitter account led Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab insurgents to voice their displeasure on their still-operational Arabic-language account in a tweet that reads, "This is new evidence of the freedom of expression in the West." Their Somali-language account also remains operational.
The suspended al-Qaida Twitter account @HSMPress currently bears a message that simply reads, "Sorry, that user is suspended." In the meantime, speculation about the account's status is approaching viral status. One tweet by journalist Daniel Howden @howden_africa asks, "Has France taken battle with African Islamic militants online by shutting down al Shabab on Twitter?"
Twitter's terms of service (TOS) make it clear. The site may suspend any account at any time for any reason. No explanation is necessary. From Twitter's TOS: "We reserve the right at all times (but will not have an obligation) to remove or refuse to distribute any Content on the Services, to suspend or terminate users, and to reclaim usernames without liability to you."
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