Twitter, Reddit, Facebook and other social media companies have blocked access to the private email server operated by the State Department that records and stores communications of US officials, including former President Barack Obama and top White House officials.
The government shutdown in the United States has forced the State and Defense departments to shut down, and they are working to resolve their concerns over the privacy of their own messages.
But Twitter and other platforms have blocked Twitter and Reddit from accessing the State email server, which has been in use since at least 2014, according to a Twitter spokesperson.
The Twitter spokesperson said that Twitter has been working with the Department of State on the issue and that the State has not taken any action to block Twitter or Reddit.
Twitter and the State did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reddit, the online social media site, is also working to remove the server.
Reddit said that the private server “is currently being restored” and that it was “reviewing the issue” with the department.
Twitter said that it had been in touch with the State to work out the issue.
A Reddit spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for information on the State emails.
Twitter has long been an important player in government, having become a major proponent of the “tweetocracy” model, which allows users to send and receive tweets with ease, a method of rapid and direct communication that is increasingly popular on the social media platform.
