• The Guardian, Monday, February 21, 2011 1:08 PM

Don't mess with Twitter. Over the weekend, the top micro-blogging served briefly blocked BlackBerry and Android apps, UberSocial and Twidroyd, for a number of "serious-looking" policy violations affecting "a large number of users," The Guardian reports. According to Twitter: "These violations include, but aren't limited to, a privacy issue with private Direct Messages longer than 140 characters, trademark infringement, and changing the content of users' tweets in order to make money."

Despite having his app reinstated on Sunday night, UberMedia-funder Bill Gross is fuming about how Twitter handled the issue. Gross insists the ban "completely took us by surprise" and Twitter "didn't raise [the issues] before" -- which Twitter's insisted that was in contact with UberMedia about the "policy violations" since last April.

Read the whole story at The Guardian »