Elon Musk's company X, formerly known as Twitter, has come under scrutiny for allegedly throttling the speed of traffic to certain websites that have incurred Musk's disapproval. This move has raised concerns about online freedom of information and the power of tech moguls to influence access to content.

Targeted Websites Experience Delays

Reports suggest that X intentionally slowed down access to links leading to prominent news organisations and online competitors, including the New York Times, Facebook, and others.

Users clicking on links to these targeted websites reportedly experienced delays of approximately five seconds before being able to access the content. Tests conducted by The Washington Post on Tuesday (August 15) indicated that the delay was most noticeable when accessing X's online rivals, such as Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and Substack, as well as established news outlets like the Reuters wire service and the New York Times.

Notably, these entities have previously faced criticism or attacks from Elon Musk.

Shortly after news of the throttling emerged, X apparently began reversing the slowdown on some of the targeted sites, with delay times dropping back to zero.

"The delay affected the t.co domain, a link-shortening service that X uses to process every link posted to the website. Traffic is routed through the domain, allowing X to track — and, in this case, throttle — activity to the target website, potentially taking away traffic and ad revenue from businesses Musk personally dislikes," The Washington Post reported.

Partial Reversal of Slowdown

The situation sparked further concern when it was noted that the delays did not affect links to other websites, including The Washington Post, Fox News, and various social media platforms. These links were able to redirect users to their intended destinations within a second or less.

The issue was initially highlighted by a user on the technology forum Hacker News, who noticed the delays early Tuesday.

Elon Musk, who has identified himself as a "free speech absolutist," and X have not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the allegations.

Responses from Affected Entities

Representatives from the affected companies expressed varying degrees of concern. Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for the New York Times, stated that they had observed the delays and had not received any explanation from X about the situation.

“While we don’t know the rationale behind the application of this time delay, we would be concerned by targeted pressure applied to any news organisation for unclear reasons,” he said.

Substack's co-founders Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie and Jairaj Sethi, also urged X to reconsider its decision to impose delays on Substack links, citing their platform's creation as a response to such behavior by social media companies.

“Substack was created in direct response to this kind of behavior by social media companies,” they said. “Writers cannot build sustainable businesses if their connection to their audience depends on unreliable platforms that have proven they are willing to make changes that are hostile to the people who use them.”

Implications of Alleged Throttling

The implications of this alleged throttling extend beyond mere inconvenience, as online companies invest significant resources to ensure speedy website access. Studies have shown that even minor delays can result in user frustration and prompt them to seek alternatives.

In 2016, a Google study indicated that over half of users would abandon a website if it took more than three seconds to load. Reports suggest that the New York Times experienced a drop in traffic from X during the period of the delays.

Former Twitter executive Yoel Roth commented on the issue, expressing disbelief at the situation and noting that delays, even subconsciously, could deter users from engaging with content.

The timeline for when these slowdowns began is uncertain; however, an anonymous user on Hacker News claimed to have noticed delays in accessing Times stories on August 4.

This incident followed a heated exchange between Musk and the New York Times, where Musk labeled the news organisation as a "racial genocide apologist," and asking people to cancel their subscriptions after the news agency reported on a political controversy in South Africa, where Musk was born.

Musk's history of using X's technical capabilities to address personal grievances has come under scrutiny, raising concerns about the potential misuse of power.