Twitter resolves issues with accounts locked by mistake
It was also seeing a delay in tweets showing up on timelines.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
Twitter reports it's accidentally locking accounts.
Twitter reported two problems for users early Wednesday afternoon, with a delay in tweets showing up on timelines as well as accounts being locked "by mistake."
"We're seeing a number of accounts that have been locked or limited by mistake and not because they tweeted about any particular topic," Twitter Support tweeted. "We're working to undo this and get those accounts back to normal."
Twitter said it was working to fix the issues right away, with both resolved within four hours. As of 4:08 p.m. PT, Twitter had fixed one of the issues: "Your Tweets should be making it onto your timeline...on time."
The accidental account-locking issue was then fixed by Twitter around 4:40 p.m., with the social media platform providing a new Help page for what to do if your account remains locked.
The accounts that were mistakenly locked or limited have been restored. We’re sorry this happened in the first place.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) September 23, 2020
If you're having trouble accessing your account, here's what you can do: https://t.co/lxCGYu2ZcO
The accidental locking or limiting of accounts came amid the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, as Twitter seeks to crack down on false and misleading information spreading via the social network and is ramping up the removal of accounts and tweets that violate its rules.