Elon Musk’s Long-Stated Plans For Twitter Begins As App Removes Blue Ticks From Legacy Verified Accounts

It may have come late but Elon Musk’s long-stated plans to eradicate blue checkmarks from Legacy Verified Accounts of Twitter users have begun.

The decision is a huge one and we’re seeing notable names from the industry lose their ticks, one by one.

The change is very evident on accounts belonging to several leading journalists and you’ll also see how logos hinting at verification are also slowly but surely disappearing and then appearing again when the page on the app starts to reload.

Classically, the purpose of this new verification system from Twitter is to make sure all accounts belonging to famous people and companies that gave out a lot of content on the app for free were actually being provided by those same people in question. But now, Musk is asking for an $8 monthly payment if you want to get that same verification of Twitter Blue.

The tech billionaire has certainly been awfully vocal about the decision and how he did not like the verification system in place by the old administration. He’s been criticizing it since day one and has wanted a change for so long. Not only did he refer to it as corrupt but bullshit too and one that was seen during the lords' and peasants' age.

So many leading journalists on the app could receive verification through default means no matter how big or small their follower count was, which was actually a factor taking their readership into consideration. The news failed to sit right with Elon Musk and his not-so-great terms with the press and the world of media so the change was inevitable.

Hence, a lot of criticism came from Musk’s way when he did not meet the deadline set out for April 1 but he did vow to make it by April 20, staying true to his promise. The wind-down of the program has begun and a lot of famous names are really losing their blue ticks. There are clearly no technical glitches at this point in time.

The app set out the right system for blue ticks nearly ten years back after facing intense criticism and a legal case from celebs that were not happy with people impersonating them through the app. Today, we agree the system is far from perfect and the app really did have a lot of challenges in store in terms of getting verification. It’s a symbol that many saw a huge mark for advertising on the famous microblogging website. But it did make a huge number of dilemmas center stage regarding whether such profiles belonging to far-right account holders would be verified or not.

But while Musk thinks verification would help in solving the company’s problems, well, he’s sadly mistaken. Now that anyone and everyone can pay for it, we’re seeing misinformation pop up in so many news articles.

Even a tweet from the app’s own Daily News was incorrectly cited as evidence for its API changes in one of CNN’s latest reports. So yes, it was corrected but isn’t this a huge eye-opener for obvious reasons.

Read next: Microsoft Advertising Refuses To Support Twitter As Decision Prompts Elon Musk To Stage New Lawsuit
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

America’s New RESTRICT Act May Be Gaining Support For A TikTok Ban But Experts Warn Of Devastating Side Effects

The talk of a controversial ban on one of the world’s biggest social media apps, TikTok continues.

Now, we’re hearing about a new RESTRICT Act that has gained immense support from American lawmakers of the Republican and Democratic parties. They came to the unanimous decision that something needed to be done about the app, thanks to the huge concerns linked to data privacy and links of the app to Chinese Government officials.

It’s not a complete ban as was once heard of and is still being spoken of in the country but many feel that this would do justice.

There have been a lot of arguments on this front regarding the best way to accomplish such goals. One bill has ended up gaining plenty of steam and it’s this RESTRICT Act. Despite being introduced in the public eye by a Democrat, it has really turned into one of the world’s leading legislations for a ban on TikTok.

The White House was seen showing immense support for this bill as witnessed by influential groups on both sides. The bill is also very unique in that it does not provide any support for just one app like just TikTok or hold any nation accountable like China.

It just provides the country’s Department of Commerce with more authority to outline and block transactions that entail foreign adversaries. This would entail China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, and even North Korea.

The supporters claim that such approaches are more flexible and that with the right apps in a place like TikTok, it can do great at limiting their damaging potential. But wait, it’s not as simple as that.

• Also read: The fastest mobile and broadband internet speeds in the world as of March 2023

We’re seeing it face plenty of restrictions and a huge amount of backlash from so many critics as well. This includes groups of civil rights activists like the ACLU and some firms specializing in providing digital rights such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation. They are the ones in charge of the language provided by the bill and the great risks linked to America’s freedom of speech and privacy rights.

And then you have some Republicans charging the bill and how it grants way too much authority to the Federal Government by adding new powers to Joe Biden. But why are critics so worried that this bill would give Biden so much power after all?

See, when and if passed, the Act would cause President Joe Biden to have the liberty to choose which apps could be listed across America’s leading App Store. Similarly, the law also provides a leading number of privacy risks for so many American citizens.

Another leading concern is how the draft of such a bill is not very clear. It just makes it so how hard it is to actually reach it, as explained by experts in the industry.

For instance, the bill might criminalize VPNs for accessing TikTok apps on servers located outside the country. And while the supporters of this bill feel it will not be applied to people individually in the US, there is nothing in this current language that would make sure it won’t happen again.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

The fastest mobile and broadband internet speeds in the world as of March 2023

The most recent performance report for the first quarter of 2023 has been made available by Ookla, the most popular internet speed testing service globally. The report provides an overview of the average internet speeds in different nations worldwide for fixed broadband and mobile internet.

Regarding broadband, the average upload and download speeds globally were 79 Mbps and 34.92 Mbps, respectively. There was a 9 ms lag. This information showed that Singapore had the fastest fixed broadband;with a median download speed of 235.40 Mbps. Singapore topped the ranking. UAE (221.87 Mbps), Chile (220.39 Mbps), China (216.83 Mbps), and Denmark (203.78 Mbps) were the nations that came in second to Singapore.

In terms of mobile network performance, UAE took home first place with an average download speed of 178.25Mbps, followed by Qatar (174.56Mbps), Norway (143.55Mbps), Kuwait (135.63Mbps), and Denmark(129.95Mbps). Ookla's Speedtest Global Index also revealed that China's capital Beijing had taken the lead with its record-breaking internet speed, clocking in at a lightning-fast 264.92Mbps and only 9ms latency. But it may not be top dog for long: Qatar's Ar-Rayyanskyrocketed to 223.87 Mbps with an 18 ms lag time -- an impressive gain from their position last quarter!

According to the study, global internet speeds have dramatically grown during the past quarter in several nations. It is linked to improved internet service accessibility and superior communication infrastructure. Another element causing higher speeds worldwide is the growing amount of fiber-based connections. There is no doubt that more people are looking for internet services that are quicker and more dependable.

As such, countries worldwide are investing in their communication infrastructure to ensure they provide quality internet access to their citizens. It is an encouraging trend that will no doubt continue. Ultimately, faster internet speeds will lead to better services for everyone and more significant innovation in the digital world.

Overall, these findings show that while some countries are making great strides towards faster internet speeds, there is still much work to be done globally to ensure that all users have access to fast and reliable connections, no matter where they may be geographically speaking.

Read next: Alarming New Report Finds 82% Of Open Source Software Risky Thanks To Major Vulnerabilities And Security Issues
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

YouTube has rolled out some features meant to make the platform even more reliable for content creators

Google-owned YouTube is one of the most popular video search engine all across the world. Our expectations from this platform have never been let down by the diversity of alternatives it provides for sharing and viewing videos. For many video producers throughout the world, YouTube has evolved into their primary workstation.

Lately, the tech giant has been rolling out some features, for both Android and iOS users that has no doubt made using the platform even more worth it. However, these new upgrades are also advantageous for content creators as they could aid in their more efficient content distribution and increased audience engagement.

Starting off, the first update lets people reply to comments with a YouTube short. Now when this feature was already available for iOS users, Android ones are not able to get their hands on it. But "Creator Insider" claims that this update has now been made accessible to all users.

Next, the "customizing shorts thumbnail" function has been eagerly anticipated by iOS users. At the beginning of 2023, this update was already released to the public, but exclusively for Android users. For those who may not be aware, this function lets users upload a short video and choose a thumbnail from a frame of the video itself. To add to it, this may be useful for makers since it would allow them to publish a short quickly and save their time looking for a decent thumbnail.

Furthermore, YouTube only allows you to add 14 picture characters at a time when you publish a poll to your channel. However, the site has increased the cap to 36 photographs after learning that its consumers are not entirely satisfied with it even though the poll’s text limit will only remains 65 characters.

To say that YouTube has put a lot of work into creating a user-friendly ecosystem would be an understatement. . The fourth and final feature gives their users access to a single account and lets you take various actions on the behalf of the channel owner. The issue here appears to be that the activities are only available through YouTube Studio; however the video-sharing website has since revealed that anybody may create an activity even through the YouTube main app. For instance, when your manager or editor attempts to manage your playlist, they could simply do it through the main YouTube app, but for that, you need to adjust your settings from the "Channel Permissions" option.

Read next: YouTube Updates Its Eating Disorder Content Policy In Bid To Provide More Guidance To Those At Risk
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Microsoft Advertising Refuses To Support Twitter As Decision Prompts Elon Musk To Stage New Lawsuit

Microsoft Advertising is ditching Twitter as the company opts to take a step back from supporting the popular microblogging platform.

The decision is certainly overwhelming and is not sitting down too well on Elon Musk who has now threatened the software giant with a new lawsuit.

The news was posted today by Microsoft’s Support Page website that stated how the Smart Campaigns with its Multiplatform endeavors can’t provide any more support for the app starting April 25. For now, there is no specified reason for this decision but it is likely that it might be linked to Twitter adopting a paid API for huge firms in the industry.

The announcement was made on Twitter’s separate Daily News Account where Elon Musk added a sudden reply to this post, alongside an additional quick text. He says the company’s workers were trained through illegal means through Twitter’s data and it’s time they were held accountable with a lawsuit.

For now, it’s all a very fuzzy endeavor and one that we’re not too sure about either as very little is being spoken on this front. We don’t know what the tech billionaire really means in terms of getting trained illegally through the app’s data. But it is very much likely that he feels the computational giant is holding the firm accountable for utilizing the Twitter API so it could train better for AI services such as Bing Chat. Still, he’s not providing any form of evidence regarding this type of activity.

Meanwhile, both the app and its chief are making a lot of heads turn in the past couple of weeks. At the start of this month, the billionaire instructed the platform to block individuals from liking, reposting, and sending out replies to posts featuring links through Substack. Thankfully, it was a temporary endeavor but an eyebrow-raising one.

Next, we saw Elon Musk accuse the Substack firm of installing a huge chunk of his Twitter company’s database. The move was aimed to provide support for the recently released Substack Notes feature. Yet, Musk again failed to provide any evidence of the allegations.

And now, we’re seeing him accuse several media outlets of being funded by the government which has resulted in the American NPR stopping posts through its account on the Twitter app.

Read next: According to recent survey Twitter is seeing a massive exodus of journalists
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

New Montana Law Banning Use Of TikTok Declared Unjustified By National Security Concerns

This past week we heard about a new bill gearing up for approval by Montana’s governor regarding the ban on TikTok.

But the tech industry group NetChoice is having its say on how the law is completely unjustified by the concern of national security. Therefore, the letter urged the state’s governor to come forward and veto the bill.

While the firm agrees that any threats to national security must be eliminated before it’s too late, they simply cannot be weaponized and used against people and businesses that are getting shunned.

Hence, banning access to the app through privately purchased devices is certainly a huge example of exercising power owned by the government. Moreover, it’s just not justified and would be deemed unconstitutional in terms of providing protection or safeguarding the nation.

The members of NetChoice entail TikTok and a leading number of other competitors in the world of tech like Meta and search engine giant Google.

This past week we saw Montana’s lawmakers pass out a new bill that prevents users from going to app stores to download the TikTok platform. Moreover, this prohibits so many people from using this app in the state while providing a few exceptions. The latter includes users hailing from government agencies and law enforcement firms.

While the decision certainly does not punish users of the app, what it does is make room for sanctions that begin at just $10,000 against the likes of apps such as TikTok and the mobile app stores.

The bill was set out by lawmakers in the state and it was due to a great many concerns regarding TikTok which is under the ownership of China’s ByteDance. There was a threat that data was getting collected and shared with officials in China.

NetChoice did mention more details about how the Chinese Communist Party is a growing threat to security but it feels banning such a platform is not the right way to go about the situation.

Instead, it wants the country to hold the real threat accountable which is the CCP. Hence, banning this app on devices owned by private citizens is like a punishment to them and the third parties in these places. And it further does absolutely nothing to weaken its power.

Lastly, the bill, if passed, would interfere with America’s First Amendment and that is what provides protection against legal speech while putting out dangerous precedents that may be allowed in several states.

H/T: Media Post

Read next: TikTok Doubles The Scrolling Speed For Users Navigating Through Its Platform
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Cyber Scammers Target Unsuspecting Users Via Facebook Ads in a Latest Fraud Scheme

Social media consumers are being alerted of a new scam that involves fraud advertisements of various hit AI platforms, such as ChatGPT & Google Bard. The reports have emerged as an increasing number of people have been hunted by fraudsters, who use the names of these platforms to deceive consumers into clicking on ads and handing over their sensitive info.

As per the investigations, hackers are using the names of famous AI platforms to create fake Facebook accounts and post promotions that lead consumers to phishing websites. Once an individual clicks on the post, they are taken to a fraudulent webpage that asks for their private info.

The investigation alerts that individuals should be cautious when clicking on promotion posts and links on social media sites, especially if they are from companies they don't recognize. It also advises them to be careful about giving out their personal information and to always check the legitimacy of a website before entering any sensitive information.

The scammers behind these activities are likely using the stolen information to commit identity theft or fraud. They may use the information to open new bank accounts, apply for credit cards, or make purchases online.

Facebook has responded to the report by disabling and combating these types of activities, as it is committed to protecting its consumers' privacy. The social media giant said that it uses a range of tools and technologies to detect and prevent fraudulent activity on its platform, including automated systems that scan for such things.

It also encourages people to report any suspicious activity they see on the platform. It has a dedicated reporting system that allows users to flag content that they believe is fraudulent or deceptive.

The rise of fake advertisements on the internet is just the latest example of scammers using social media to target unsuspecting individuals. The research highlights that these types of scams are likely to continue, as scammers become more sophisticated in their techniques and more brazen in their attempts to deceive consumers.

As such, people must remain vigilant when using social media platforms and take steps to protect their personal information. By following simple guidelines such as being cautious about clicking on advertisements and links, checking the legitimacy of websites, and reporting suspicious activity, they can help to keep themselves safe from scams and fraud.

Read next: Alarming New Report Finds 82% Of Open Source Software Risky Thanks To Major Vulnerabilities And Security Issues
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World