Twitter seems to ban all Threads links to reaffirm its position as a “free speech absolutist” platform

Elon Musk runs the whole of Twitter like the jealous, power-drunk moderator of a small 5,000-member Discord server.

No surprise there. Weren't they banning people for posting their Mastodon/Cohost accounts or something?

And no one is surprised.

Elon made it clear shortly after taking over that "free speech" was speech he happened to agree with, and he had no intentions of ethical consistency on 'free speech' when it came to speech that was critical of him or his platform. Twitter already went nuclear on links to Mastadon and similar alternative platforms earlier this year while their dumpster fire was raging.

how is that free speech, twitter is blocking a competitor for obvious reasons

Ah yes. The exact kind of action I would expect from someone who has measured responses like "Zuck is a cuck".

Use a platform ran by a five year-old, expect five year-old behavior.

Although it won't absolve one of crimes, affluenza seems to be a real thing. The social isolation and deference that money brings seems to have a host of well-documented psychological issues that accompany it. Musk, like Trump, seems to believe that he can do whatever he wants without meaningful consequences, because he exists in a bubble of sycophants and wealth, where rules for the plebs do not apply. Normal people can't burn this much good will and go on with their lives unhindered. Normal people would be permanently financially ruined if they lost that much doing stupid and illegal business moves.

Is anyone surprised?

Of course. That’s who they are. Why would anyone continue to use either of those?

This has a very "let's de-federate from Threads" vibe.

Don't get me wrong the guy is a tool but it feels similar to an instance admin blocking threads and not letting users decide.

I mean, you're free to speak. The article doesn't mention banning anything, just not making it findable. There's a difference.