Independent reporter Guy Adams’ Twitter account was restored today. It was suspended after Adams tweeted NBC President of the Olympics Gary Zenkel’s email address.
Adams tweeted in two parts, “Twitter emails to tell me: “we have just received an update from the complainant retracting their original request…Therefore your account has been unsuspended.” No further explanation given, or apology offered.”
The complainant was NBC, and it looks like they have backed down under severe public criticism.
Adams’ first tweet since the suspension poked fun at the situation:
Oh. My Twitter account appears to have been un-suspended. Did I miss much while I was away?
— Guy Adams (@guyadams) July 31, 2012
Update: Adams has posted a story on The Independent, “I thought the internet age had ended this kind of censorship.” In one paragraph, he directly refutes the claim that he broke Twitter’s terms of service:
Twitter’s guidelines forbid users from publishing what they call “private” information, including “private email addresses”. There is plenty of sense in this. But I did not Tweet a private email address. I Tweeted a corporate address for Mr Zenkel, which is widely listed online, and is identical in form to that of tens of thousands of those at NBC.
Adams’ claims that the email was widely available have been refuted, but celebrities have posted similar and even more private information in the past before and did not have their accounts suspended.