'Banned Twitter accounts to be restored only after setting up a clear process': Elon Musk

Prominent among the banned accounts is former US President Donald Trump's Twitter handle, which was suspended for content inciting last year's attack on the Capitol by a mob seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Whether or not the banned accounts will be restored in the future would indicate where Musk, a self-described "free speech absolutist," wants to take the site.

Twitter banned those accounts which violated the site's content moderation rules.

Musk, who fired Parag Agrawal after acquiring the platform for $44 billion, became the CEO of the company.

Post the takeover, Musk appeared to act cautiously in terms of reinstatement of the banned accounts.

"Twitter will not allow anyone who was de-platformed for violating Twitter rules back on platform until we have a clear process for doing so, which will take at least a few more weeks," he tweeted.

The AFP report said the banned accounts are likely to be restored only after the crucial November 8 midterm elections in the United States, which will determine control of Congress.

Musk was tweeting in response to a post from the company's head of safety, Yoel Roth, on Twitter's efforts to combat disinformation ahead of the elections.

"We're staying vigilant against attempts to manipulate conversations about the 2022 US midterms," Roth said.

Musk also said he had talked to civil society leaders "about how Twitter will continue to combat hate & harassment & enforce its election integrity policies."

On Tuesday, Musk said the site will charge $8 per month to verify users' accounts.