An anti-capitalist group protesting the London Olympics via Twitter can tweet no more after its account was suspended for violating the site’s trademark policy.
After using a doctored logo of the games for their avatar and wallpaper, Space Hijackers received an email from Twitter stating that their account, @spacehijackers, had been suspended following a complaint from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG). The group calls itself “the Official Protesters of the London 2012 Olympic Games” and says that the event has become “a big corporate party” that most regular people are not taking part in, the London Telegraph reported.
LOCOG reported that Space Hijackers violated Twitter’s trademark policy. Twitter notified the group, saying the doctored logo was used “in a way that could be confusing or misleading with regard to a brand affiliation.”
Space Hijackers’ account has been active since 2007 and has more than 2,600 followers. A representative for the group has contacted Twitter, offering to change the wallpaper design but keep the avatar.
“When a big corporate organization gets in touch about a logo — which is clearly not tied to the official Olympics Twitter account, Twitter sides with the corporate,” the representative told the Telegraph.
The group’s web site shows the e-mail from Twitter announcing their suspension and states that the account will get up and running once Twitter gets the joke.