Twitter CEO Elon Musk apologized on Sunday for instituting a new policy that sparked a flurry of negative comments that ultimately led to him reversing course.

During the World Cup, the company announced it would suspend, and potentially ban, Twitter users who promoted certain rival social media platforms.

The changes were widely viewed as an attempt to stop users from encouraging their followers to migrate to other platforms instead of staying on Twitter.

“Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes,” Musk tweeted. “My apologies. Won’t happen again.”

Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won’t happen again.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022

“We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter,” the company said in a series of tweets that have since been deleted. “Specifically, we will remove accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms and content that contains links or usernames for the following platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr and Post.”

The company said it would “remove any free promotion of prohibited 3rd-party social media platforms, such as linking out (i.e. using URLs) … or providing your handle without a URL” to the aforementioned platforms or to “3rd-party social media link aggregators such as linktr.ee, lnk.bio.”

“Additionally, any attempts to bypass restrictions on external links to the above prohibited social media platforms through technical or non-technical means (e.g. URL cloaking, plaintext obfuscation) is in violation of this policy,” the statement continued. “This includes, but is not limited to, spelling out ‘dot’ for social media platforms that use ‘.’ in the names to avoid URL creation, or sharing screenshots of your handle on a prohibited social media platform.”

The statement said that cross-posting from other platforms is not in violation of the policy, including from the sites that were listed. The company said it would allow people to pay to promote their social media accounts on other platforms.

If a user violates the rules, Twitter said it would require that they delete the tweet(s) that violates the policy, and they may temporarily suspend the account. If subsequent violations occur, the account would be permanently banned.

Musk tweeted late Sunday afternoon that he was open to stepping down as CEO of the company and said he would leave the decision up to Twitter users by posting a poll.

“Should I step down as head of Twitter?” Musk asked. “I will abide by the results of this poll.”

Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022

Attorney General Merrick Garland marked the first night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah with a call for Americans to come together to oppose a “disturbing” rise in anti-Semitism and other acts of bigotry.

At this year’s National Hanukkah Menorah lighting, an annual event sponsored by the American Friends of Lubavitch at the White House Ellipse, Garland, who is Jewish, gave his remarks a personal edge by sharing his family’s harrowing story of escaping the Holocaust in Europe and finding refuge in the United States. Living without fear of persecution under the protection of the law “is what distinguishes America from so many other countries,” Garland said.

As attorney general, he vowed, “I will never stop working to guarantee that protection to everyone in our country. All of us at the Department of Justice will never stop working to confront and combat violence and other unlawful acts fueled by hate. That is our legal obligation. But now more than ever, all Americans have a moral obligation to stand up against such hate. Together, we must stand up against the disturbing rise in anti-Semitism and together we must stand up against bigotry in any of its forms. Our democracy depends on it.”

Garland’s message about anti-Semitism follows that of FBI Director Christopher Wray, who said last month that anti-Semitism remains “a pervasive and present fact” that threatens Jewish communities. Wray said this on the same day a man was arrested in connection to what the FBI warned was a “credible” threat to New Jersey synagogues.

The Anti-Defamation League published a report in April, saying the group received 2,717 reports of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States in 2021, a 34% increase from 2020 and the highest number since ADL began tracking them.

Building upon Wray’s vow to protect Jewish communities against threats, Garland said the Justice Department’s “mission is to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect the civil rights of everyone in this country,”

At the close of his remarks, before the lighting of the giant menorah on the Ellipse, Garland again gave his message a personal touch.

“As a descendant of those who fled persecution because they were Jewish, it is especially meaningful to be here tonight as we light this menorah in our nation’s capital and under the protection of its laws,” Garland said. “May we never stop working to ensure that Americans will always be able to gather today as we are doing tonight to light the Menorah.”