Twitter has announced to ban "misleading" advertisements related to climate change on its platform. The micro-blogging platform said that misleading advertisements on Twitter "that contradict the scientific consensus on climate change are prohibited, in line with our inappropriate content policy"."We believe that climate denialism shouldn`t be monetized on Twitter, and that misrepresentative ad shouldn`t detract from important conversations about the climate crisis," the company said in a blog post late on Friday.Last year, Twitter introduced a dedicated Topic to help people find personalised conversations about climate change.Twitter said that misleading information about climate change can undermine efforts to protect the planet.

Twitter has announced to ban "misleading" advertisements related to climate change on its platform. The micro-blogging platform said that misleading advertisements on Twitter "that contradict the scientific consensus on climate change are prohibited, in line with our inappropriate content policy"

Twitter bans misleading climate change ads that contradict scientific consensus

New Delhi :The announcement came late Monday evening (April 25) – and broke the internet.Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, had bought microblogging site Twitter for a neat $44 billion.The little blue bird, which is known to take on many avatars depending on the mood, leanings and interests of who it is chirping for, went into overdrive.While some Twitter users flooded the site with memes and humorous takes on the move, the deal also had a fair share of critics.One user asked Musk to also take over IRCTC — the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, to speed it up.Another wrote that Musk should also buy streaming app SonyLiv and package it better.The billionaire has big plans for the social media site, starting from opening up the algorithm, just like he did with Tesla, and cracking down on bots.He has also raised the issue of free speech.“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans."Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it,” Musk said in a statement.While Musk might appear to be a steadfast promoter of free speech, his stance on the subject has raised questions about the quality of the content that will be seen on the platform, which has already been criticised for not censoring violent or vile tweets.#Leavingtwitter was quick to trend, with Hollywood actor Jameela Jamil quitting the site.“Ah he got Twitter. I would like this to be my what lies here as my last tweet."Just really “any” excuse to show pics of Barold (her dog)."I fear this free speech bid is going to help this hell platform reach its final form of totally lawless hate, bigotry, and misogyny. Best of luck,” she wrote.Frenzied activity and passionate reactions aside, where does this takeover leave Brand Twitter?“All brands are built with a set of objectives, and it is likely that Twitter was founded with the purpose of being the sole guy holding up free speech."But over time market realities bite into a brand,” says Harish Bijoor, brand strategist and founder Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.The recent controversies surrounding the platform have been about not cracking the whip on problematic content and debate around restrictive algorithm, which governs a lot of control.“Elon Musk is all about dominating some of the top leadership positions in the world."When someone has their eyes set on an acquisition like this, it is near impossible to stop them,” says Bijoor.“Brands at times are meant to be owned. And at times they are meant to be nurtured and passed on; and I think the latter is happening here,” he adds.As far as the cliché goes, this move leaves the company at a crossroads.“Twitter is already a prominent brand and this move has brought it to greater prominence. It’s become a world event."It has definitely heightened the interest in the brand and has also left a lot of questions hanging around it,” says Santosh Desai, MD and CEO, Future Brands.According to Statista, India ranked third with 23.6 million Twitter users, after Japan and the US, in January 2022.The microblogging site does not hold an enviable record with the Indian government and was most recently in the news for not complying with the new IT rules.“There is a section of people which is fearful about what exactly this freedom of speech will translate into, because the idea of having unbridled access to put forwards views, no matter how rabid they are, is fearsome to people,” says Desai, while adding, “But there is also a side where people whose voices have been suppressed may now be allowed.”With 85.1 million followers, Musk also holds significant cultural clout.In May 2021, cryptocurrencies tumbled after Musk tweeted saying that Tesla will no longer accept Bitcoin as payment.In January this year, when the billionaire said that he would eat fast food on TV if McDonald’s starts accepting dogecoin, the cryptocurrency gained 9 percentage points.“Companies cannot choose who their owners are going to be. Twitter is a very powerful medium and such powerful mediums need to be managed very well."With great power comes great responsibility. And Musk might be a maverick, but he is a very rich maverick,” says Bijoor.Desai adds, “Twitter is not a commercial phenomenon; it is a societal phenomenon."The more fundamental question is: should one person, regardless who he is, have the power to have such a dramatic influence on the world.”“And if that person is someone like Musk, who has displayed a volatility in the past, there is a larger societal implication that has to be acknowledged,” he adds.Musk has expressed concern over the relevance of the microblogging site.Recently, he sent the platform into a tizzy by making a poll about the addition of an edit button — a long-standing demand of a section of Twitter users.Will the transfer of ownership signal a move to alternative microblogging sites for India’s tweeple?Both Bijoor and Desai don’t think so."The true-blue health of a site like Twitter is how many million people are active on it at the same time,” says Bijoor.“And I can't think of any other site that has the same kind of traffic."—Rediff

The announcement came late Monday evening (April 25) – and broke the internet.  Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, had bought microblogging site Twitter for a neat $44 billion.

How Brand Elon Musk might impact Brand Twitter

The announcement came late Monday evening (April 25) – and broke the internet.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, had bought microblogging site Twitter for a neat $44 billion.

LONDON : Tesla CEO Elon Musk has warned that Twitter staff may face 'extreme' workloads if he takes over the micro-blogging platform.While replying to an earlier tweet he shared about his plans for the micro-blogging site, he mentioned that he will still graft even harder than them to make the firm a success."Also, work ethic expectations would be extreme, but much less than I demand of myself," Musk wrote on Twitter.Earlier, Musk had revealed that Twitter will focus deeply on hardcore software engineering, design, and more, following the completion of the acquisition of the micro-blogging site.The Tesla CEO also said that he strongly believes that all managers in a technical area "must be technically excellent"."If Twitter acquisition completes, the company will be super focused on hardcore software engineering, design, infosec and server hardware," Musk tweeted late Friday."I strongly believe that all managers in a technical area must be technically excellent. Managers in software must write great software or it is like being a cavalry captain who cannot ride a horse!"He tagged an article from Fortune, along with one of his tweets that said "Job interest in Twitter skyrocketed more than 250 per cent since Musk moved to take over"—IANS

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has warned that Twitter staff may face 'extreme' workloads if he takes over the micro-blogging platform. While replying to an earlier tweet he shared about his plans for the micro-blogging site, he mentioned that he will still graft even harder than them to make the firm a success.

Musk says Twitter staff may face 'extreme' workloads if he takes over

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has warned that Twitter staff may face 'extreme' workloads if he takes over the micro-blogging platform.
While replying to an earlier tweet he shared about his plans for the micro-blogging site, he mentioned that he will still graft even harder than them to make the firm a success.

New Delhi: The speculations of Tesla chief Elon Musk visiting India in near future gained traction after his Twitter remark post got viral.The world's richest man Elon Musk on Monday expressed his fondness for Indian architecture in a Twitter reply to History Defined that had posted a beautiful facade detail of the Red Fort."It's amazing. I visited in 2007 and also saw the Taj Mahal, which truly is a wonder of the world," tweeted Musk.Earlier, History Defined claimed to show a facade from a fort in Agra."Amazing facade detail of the Red Fort in Agra, India," tweeted History Defined.Agra Fort, also known as "Laal Qila", is located in Agra, India. It is tagged as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1983. It was designed and built by the great Mughal Emperor Akbar in the year 1565 AD. Agra was the capital of India in ancient times. This glorious fort is built alongside the Yamuna River. Musk has become a hotcake after he took control of Twitter in a USD 44 million deal. His Twitter remark led several Indian Twitter users to respond to Musk's tweet, asking, "Any plans to visit India soon?"One of the users Ajith Shan tweeted, "Any near time plan to visit India again? Let's make an itinerary for his next visit in this tread...haha."While another Twitter user Umashankar Singh in a friendly banter said "Now please do not think of buying it."Earlier, Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute of India, advised Musk to invest in India for high-quality, large-scale manufacturing of Tesla cars.Taking to Twitter, Adar Poonawalla asked Elon Musk to invest in India if he ended up not buying Twitter. He assured Musk that it would be the best investment the richest person in the world would ever make."Hey @elonmusk just in case you don't end up buying @Twitter, do look at investing some of that capital in INDIA for high-quality large-scale manufacturing of @Tesla cars. I assure you this will be the best investment you'll ever make," tweeted Poonawalla. —ANI

The speculations of Tesla chief Elon Musk visiting India in near future gained traction after his Twitter remark post got viral.

Tesla Chief Elon Musk Twitter Remark Stirs Speculation Of India Visit

London: Billionaire Elon Musk said on Tuesday he would reverse Twitter's ban on former U.S. President Donald Trump when he buys the social media platform, the clearest signal yet of Musk's intention to cut moderation of the site. Musk, the world's richest person and chief executive of electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc, has inked a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter Inc. He has called himself a "free speech absolutist," but given few specific details of his plans.Musk is expected to become Twitter's temporary CEO after closing the deal, Reuters previously reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. The question of reinstating Trump has been seen as a litmus test of how far Musk will go in making changes, even though Trump himself has said he would not return.Twitter, like other U.S.-based social media platforms, has banned various individuals for violating its policies on misinformation and glorification of violence. Musk, speaking to a Financial Times conference, added that he and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey believe permanent bans should be "extremely rare" and reserved for accounts that operate bots or spread spam."Wrong and bad" tweets should be deleted or made invisible and a temporary account suspension could be appropriate, Musk said. "I think permabans just fundamentally undermine trust in Twitter as a town square where everyone can voice their opinion." Musk said the decision to ban Trump amplified Trump's views among people on the political right, and he called the ban "morally wrong and flat-out stupid."The suspension of Trump’s account, which had more than 88 million followers, silenced his primary megaphone days before the end of his term and followed years of debate about how social media companies should moderate the accounts of powerful global leaders. Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Twitter cited "the risk of further incitement of violence" in its decision.Megan Squire, a senior fellow for data analytics at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said a permanent ban from mainstream networks, or de-platforming, has been a successful tactic in reducing the reach of abusive messaging and behaviors. Musk has endorsed some limits, telling a European Union official on Monday that EU policy was "exactly aligned" with his own thinking on controlling illegal content.'OUGHT TO BE EVERYWHERE' Conservatives, who have accused San Francisco-based Twitter of bias against right-leaning views, have cheered the prospect of Trump’s return to the platform.Trump "ought to be everywhere he can," Republican Senator Rick Scott told reporters when asked about Musk's comments. "We shouldn't have social media companies that are restricting people's ability to get their message out." Senator Roy Blunt, an establishment Republican who is retiring, was one of several Republicans who said they had no opinion about the possibility of Trump's returning to Twitter.“But I suspect that’s a good business decision on (Musk’s) part,” Blount said with a smile. Democrats have said Trump’s potential reinstatement could constitute a threat to democracy, although some hope Trump could upset their base and rev up turnout in the November midterm elections, with Democrats facing tough challenges in retaining their majority in both houses of Congress.Twitter declined to comment. Trump previously told Fox News that he would not return to Twitter if allowed. His own social media app, Truth Social, launched on the Apple app store in late February.Trump has revved up his messaging on the new platform after a slow start, posting about 50 times, mostly in the last week, to his 2.7 million followers. He averaged 18 tweets a day when he was president. There was no immediate comment from a Trump spokesperson.White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that Twitter's ban on Trump was a matter for the company to decide. The Biden administration wants online platforms to protect freedom of speech but also ensure they are not forums for disinformation, she said. During the conference, Musk said the deal to acquire Twitter could be done in two to three months in the "best-case scenario."Earlier on Tuesday, Twitter shares fell to a level that indicated the stock market believed it was unlikely Musk would make the acquisition for $44 billion, as he originally agreed. Musk's decision to buy Twitter has concerned some Tesla investors and put pressure on Tesla's stock. Musk on Tuesday added that he would stay at Tesla "as long as I can be useful."—REUTERS

 Billionaire Elon Musk said on Tuesday he would reverse Twitter's ban on former U.S. President Donald Trump when he buys the social media platform, the clearest signal yet of Musk's intention to cut moderation of the site.

Musk says he would reverse Twitter ban on Donald Trump

London: Elon Musk disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 4, a delay of at least 10 days since surpassing the 5% threshold for revealing a shareholding U.S. regulators are investigating Elon Musk's delayed disclosure of his sizable stake in Twitter Inc last month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.Musk disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 4, a delay of at least 10 days since surpassing the 5% threshold for revealing a shareholding, the report said.An investor who crosses a 5% stake must file a form with the SEC within 10 days. It serves as an early sign to stakeholders that a big investor could seek to control the company.The SEC declined to comment on the report and the Tesla Inc top boss did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.Apart from the delay, Musk's April 4 filing also characterized his stake as passive, meaning he did not plan to take over Twitter or influence its management or business.The next day, however, he was offered a position on Twitter's board, and a couple of weeks later, the world's richest man had clinched a $44 billion deal to buy the social media giant.Musk, known for his candid Twitter posts, has a long history of skirmishes with the SEC.Most recently, a U.S. judge slammed him for trying to escape a settlement with the SEC requiring oversight of his Tesla tweets.In April, the Information reported that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Musk violated a law that requires companies and people to report certain large transactions to antitrust-enforcement agencies—REUTERS

Elon Musk disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 4, a delay of at least 10 days since surpassing the 5% threshold for revealing a shareholding U.S. regulators are investigating Elon Musk's delayed disclosure of his sizable stake in Twitter Inc last month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

'Elon Musk's delay in disclosing Twitter stake triggers probe'

Washington: Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that Twitter's legal team accused him of violating a nondisclosure agreement by revealing that the sample size for the social media platform's checks on automated users was 100.Taking to a social media platform on Saturday (local time), Musk said: "Twitter legal just called to complain that I violated their NDA by revealing the bot check sample size is 100!." Twitter recently agreed to an acquisition by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a deal worth USD 44 billion, although it is still subject to shareholder approval.However, Elon Musk declared that the USD 44 billion takeover bid of the micro-blogging site is on hold.Musk said earlier this week that Twitter's decision to ban former US President Donald Trump was a mistake and he would reverse it if his acquisition of the social media company is successful.—ANI

 Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that Twitter's legal team accused him of violating a nondisclosure agreement by revealing that the sample size for the social media platform's checks on automated users was 100.

Elon Musk says Twitter legal team told him he violated NDA

San Francisco: Twitter does not believe in free speech and people working at the company hate 'hated' Elon Musk's USD 44 billion bid to take control of the company, said a man, who is being described as a senior engineer with the social media giant. An American far-right activist group Project Veritas released a video purportedly showing a senior Twitter engineer Siru Murugesan admitting that the company has a strong left-wing bias, and that right-wingers were openly censored. Murugesan was caught on camera saying that the company culture at Twitter is extremely far left, and said his colleagues 'hate, hate, hate' the proposed takeover by the Tesla CEO Elon Musk. According to Murugesan, Twitter's office politics was so left-leaning that the people working at the micro-blogging site have changed their original views to adjust to the prevailing atmosphere. Twitter recently agreed to an acquisition by Tesla CEO in a deal worth USD 44 billion, although it is still subject to shareholder approval.However, Elon Musk declared that the USD 44 billion takeover bid of the micro-blogging site is on hold. Musk himself has frequently complained about a left-wing bias on Twitter. He had said Twitter's decision to ban former United States President Donald Trump was a mistake and he would reverse it if his acquisition of the social media company is successful. On the question of how his co-workers responded to the news of Musk's buyout, Murugesan replied: "They're like, this would be my last day if this happens." Murugesan said 'a lot has changed' since Musk began the takeover process in April and employees were worried for their jobs, as his companies run differently in contrast to Twitter's 'socialist' workplace. "He's a capitalist and we weren't really operating as capitalists, more like very socialist. Like we're all commie as f***."Murugesan said the company's operating procedures were extremely lax and "essentially like everyone gets to do whatever they want". Murugesan said that many staffers had openly tried to thwart the Musk takeover and a lot of employees revolted against it. After Musk announced Twitter takeover, Murugesan said, "Employees warned of the 'exodus' of staff." "We did all we could, to like revolt against it," he said.—ANI

Twitter does not believe in free speech and people working at the company hate 'hated' Elon Musk's USD 44 billion bid to take control of the company, said a man, who is being described as a senior engineer with the social media giant.

Twitter openly left-wing, censors right-wingers: Insider

San Francisco: Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday said that he will proceed with his USD 44 billion take over of Twitter only if the microblogging giant is able to prove that less than 5 per cent of its users are bots. "20% fake/spam accounts, while 4 times what Twitter claims, could be *much* higher. My offer was based on Twitter's SEC filings being accurate. "Yesterday, Twitter's CEO publicly refused to show proof. This deal cannot move forward until he does," Musk tweeted. His tweet came in response to a Twitter user who wrote that the billionaire entrepreneur may be looking for a better deal as the previously quoted amount of $44 billion seems too high with 20 per cent users being fake or spam accounts.This comes a day after Twitter CEO Parag Agarwal issued a series of tweets amid the debate surrounding the spam controversy between the company and Musk.Agarwal on Monday emphasised that the company strongly incentivised to detect and remove as much spam as we possibly can, every single day."Next, spam isn't just 'binary' (human/not human). The most advanced spam campaigns use combinations of coordinated humans + automation."They also compromise real accounts, and then use them to advance their campaign. So - they are sophisticated and hard to catch," he tweeted.The Twitter head said the company suspends over half a million spam accounts every day, usually before any of you even see them on Twitter."The hard challenge is that many accounts which look fake superficially - are actually real people. "And some of the spam accounts which are actually the most dangerous - and cause the most harm to our users - can look totally legitimate on the surface," he added.Musk last week said that the deal to buy the social media platform Twitter is put on hold due to the calculation of fake accounts in it.Twitter shares fell by 20 per cent in early trading after this announcement.—ANI

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday said that he will proceed with his USD 44 billion take over of Twitter only if the microblogging giant is able to prove that less than 5 per cent of its users are bots.

20% Twitter accounts fake, deal 'cannot move forward' until there's clarity: Musk

San Francisco: Microblogging site Twitter has announced that it is introducing a crisis misinformation policy that will help hide tweets that share false information during a crisis. The company said that during periods of crisis access to credible, authoritative information and services is even more important. "We are introducing our crisis misinformation policy -- a global policy that will guide our efforts to elevate credible, authoritative information, and will help to ensure viral misinformation isn't amplified or recommended by us during crises," the company said in a blogpost."Alongside our existing work to make reliable information more accessible during crisis events, this new approach will help to slow the spread by us of the most visible, misleading content, particularly that which could lead to severe harms," it added.The platform mentioned that, to determine whether claims are misleading, it requires verification from multiple credible, publicly available sources. "Conversation moves quickly during periods of crisis, and content from accounts with wide reach are most likely to rack up views and engagement," the company said. "To reduce potential harm, as soon as we have evidence that a claim may be misleading, we will not amplify or recommend content that is covered by this policy across Twitter - including in the Home timeline, Search, and Explore," it added. In addition, Twitter said it will prioritise adding warning notices to highly visible Tweets and Tweets from high-profile accounts, such as state-affiliated media accounts, and verified official government accounts.—IANS

 Microblogging site Twitter has announced that it is introducing a crisis misinformation policy that will help hide tweets that share false information during a crisis.

Twitter’s new policy to hide tweets with false information during crisis

San Francisco: Tesla CEO Elon Musk is highly active on Twitter these days, also it seems that he is fond of replying regularly to a Pune-based Indian Software developer, Pranay Pathole who is working for Tata Consultancy Services.On Monday, in a tweet Musk said that he is not running Pranay's Twitter account. Pranay tweeted, "Many people think that @elonmusk runs my Twitter account. And it's TRUE. He's a super busy guy, building rockets, making life multiplanetary, building futuristic electric vehicles, digging tunnels. And somehow he finds time to run multiple Twitter account. YES ".In response to the tweet, Elon replied, "Haha I don't even have a burner Twitter account! I do have a cheesy secret Instagram account, so I can click on links that friends send me."Pranay has more than 1.6 lakh followers on Twitter. Elon and Pranay are friends on Twitter and Elon are pretty often spotted replying to Pranay's tweets.—ANI

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is highly active on Twitter these days, also it seems that he is fond of replying regularly to a Pune-based Indian Software developer, Pranay Pathole who is working for Tata Consultancy Services.

'I'm not running your Twitter account' Musk tells Indian techie

Jaipur: A day after Rajasthan sports minister&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rediff.com/news/report/rajasthan-minister-tweets-asking-gehlot-to-free-him-from-cruel-post/20220527.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(71, 123, 196);">asked to be relieved</a>&nbsp;from his post over the conduct of the CM's principal secretary, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said Ashok Chandna's tweet should not be taken seriously as he might be under pressure due to the workload. Chandna on Thursday expressed anguish over the conduct of Gehlot's principal secretary, referring to him as the 'minister of all the departments', and said he would prefer being removed as a minister.Chandna made his displeasure public through a tweet, saying he does not want to hold on to the 'dishonourable' ministerial post. Gehlot said Chandna had organised a state level sports programme earlier and in the same way, a similar event -- 'Rural Olympics' is going to be held for the first time in Rajasthan in which 30 lakh people are likely to participate. "A huge load is on him. Maybe he (Chandna) came under tension and made some comments. It should not be taken seriously... will talk to him," Gehlot told reporters.The chief minister said he had not talked to the minister till now."He seem to be working under pressure, such a big responsibility has come on him, will see," Gehlot said.In his tweet, Chandna had said, 'I request the honourable chief minister to relieve me of this dishonourable ministerial post and give the charge of all my departments to Shri Kuldeep Ranka&nbsp;ji.''He is anyway the minister of all the departments,' he tweeted in Hindi, without elaborating. Ranka is the principal secretary to the chief minister.The development comes just days ahead of Rajya Sabha elections in Rajasthan and indicates resentment within the party.Just a week ago, Congress MLA from Dungarpur Ganesh Ghogra sent his resignation to Gehlot in protest against a police case against him.—PTI

A day after Rajasthan sports minister asked to be relieved from his post over the conduct of the CM's principal secretary, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said Ashok Chandna's tweet should not be taken seriously as he might be under pressure due to the workload.

Don't take seriously: Gehlot play down minister's Twitter outburst

New Delhi: Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Sunday once again raised the presence of fake/spam accounts or 'bots' on Twitter, saying the micro-blogging platform has 'very bot-friendly' rules. Musk has put the $44 billion Twitter buyout on hold till its CEO Parag Agrawal tells him the exact percentage of bots on the platform. Twitter currently says less that 5 per cent of accounts on its platforms can be fake.A follower tagged Musk, posting "current technical Twitter Limits": "None of these @Twitter limits are aligned with the goal of human-to-human interactions @elonmusk.""Like 1 tweet every 36 seconds during 24 hours is not human behaviour. Neither is changing your account's email address 4 times per hour," the follower asked Musk.The Tesla CEO replied: "Totally, these are very bot-friendly rules!"The Twitter technical limits say that for Direct Messages (DMs), the limit is 1,000 messages sent per day, while for tweets, it is 2,400 per day. The "change to account email" is 4 per hour and the technical "follow limit" is 400 per day. Musk has asked the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to probe whether Twitter's claim on the number of its user base is true.While Twitter said in its SEC filing that less than 5 per cent of its monetisable daily active users (mDAUs) are fake, Musk believes the number of bots is four times higher.Musk mentioned that the Twitter CEO publicly refused to show proof of less than 5 per cent bots. "20 per cent fake/spam accounts, while 4 times what Twitter claims, could be much higher. My offer was based on Twitter's SEC filings being accurate," Musk wrote. "Yesterday, Twitter's CEO publicly refused to show proof of less than 5 per cent. This deal cannot move forward until he does," he had added. Musk, at a conference in Miami this month, said that Twitter could have at least four times more fake accounts than what has been revealed in its filing.—IANS

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Sunday once again raised the presence of fake/spam accounts or 'bots' on Twitter, saying the micro-blogging platform has 'very bot-friendly' rules.

Twitter has very 'bot-friendly' rules, says Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Sunday once again raised the presence of fake/spam accounts or 'bots' on Twitter, saying the micro-blogging platform has 'very bot-friendly' rules.



San Francisco: Microblogging site Twitter's social media dashboard application for management, TweetDeck, will no longer be available as a standalone Mac app from July 1. When launching the TweetDeck for the Mac app, Twitter has started placing a blue banner at the top warning users that it will only be available for one more month, reports 9To5Google. "We are saying goodbye to TweetDeck for the Mac app to focus on making TweetDeck even better and testing our new Preview," a tweet from the TweetDeck team reads."July 1 is the last day it will be available," it added.As per the report, TweetDeck for Mac just got an overhaul last year that brought it in line with the web version. At the time, the company admitted the app had not been getting "a lot of love" and that it was an example of "a Twitter-owned and operated service that we will continue investing in," it added. Another strange part of the abrupt cancellation of the TweetDeck Mac app is that it should not require any maintenance effort for Twitter since it is a website wrapper implementation. Last year, the microblogging site announced a new and improved version of TweetDeck. At that time, it was testing the new features with a small group of users in the US, Canada and Australia.—IANS

Microblogging site Twitter's social media dashboard application for management, TweetDeck, will no longer be available as a standalone Mac app from July 1.

Twitter to shut down TweetDeck for Mac on July 1

New Delhi: "It has come to the notice of the ministry that an inappropriate and derogatory advertisement of a deodorant is circulating on social media. The Ministry has asked Twitter and YouTube to immediately pull down all instances of this advertisement," the ministry tweeted, attaching the email it has sent to the platforms. Also, the TV channel on which it appeared has already pulled it down on directions of the broadcasting ministry, another tweet said. The move by the ministry came after the advertising body Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) found the advertisements going against the existing codes.The ministry found that the ads violate the Rule 3(1)(b)(ii) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, and are detrimental to the portrayal of women in the interest of decency or morality.The video has been watched around a million times and has been shared in other social media platforms, the ministry said in the email to the platforms."The ad is in serious breach of the ASCI Code and is against public interest. We have taken immediate action and notified the advertiser to suspend the ad, pending investigation," the email said. The ad was brought into the notice of ASCI via Twitter by some viewers on Friday, as per a report.—IANS

"It has come to the notice of the ministry that an inappropriate and derogatory advertisement of a deodorant is circulating on social media. The Ministry has asked Twitter and YouTube to immediately pull down all instances of this advertisement," the ministry tweeted, attaching the email it has sent to the platforms.

Govt asks Twitter, YouTube to take down deo brand's obscene ad

London: Elon Musk's efforts to arrange new financing that will limit his cash contribution to his $44 billion (roughly Rs. 3,41,800) acquisition of Twitter have been put on hold because of the uncertainty surrounding the deal, people familiar with the matter said. Musk has been threatening to walk away from the deal unless the social media company provides him with data to back up its estimate that false or spam accounts comprise less than 5 percent of its user base. This culminated in a letter from Musk's lawyers to Twitter on Monday warning he may walk away unless more information is forthcoming. Musk is on the hook to pay $33.5 billion (roughly Rs. 2,60,300 crore) in cash to fund the deal after arranging debt financing to cover the rest. His liquidity is limited given that his wealth, which is pegged by Forbes at $218 billion (roughlyRs. 16,93,800 crore), is largely tied to the shares of Tesla, the electric car maker he leads.Musk has been in discussions to arrange $2 billion (roughly Rs. 15,500 crore) to $3 billion (roughly Rs. 23,300 crore) in preferred equity financing from a group of private equity firms led by Apollo Global Management that would further reduce his cash contribution, according to the sources. These conversations are now on hold until there is clarity about the future of the acquisition, one of the sources said. The pause in financing activities offers the first clear sign that Musk's threats are interfering with steps that would help complete the deal. Twitter has insisted thus far that Musk has been performing his obligation under their contract, including helping to secure regulatory approval for the deal. Spokespersons for Musk and Twitter did not respond to requests for comment. Apollo declined to comment.Musk sold $8.5 billion (roughly Rs. 66,000 crore) worth of Tesla shares in April after he signed his deal to buy Twitter, and it is not clear how much cash he has available to meet his obligation. He has raised $7.1 billion (roughly Rs. 55,200 crore) from a group of equity co-investors to reduce his contribution. Musk also sought to reduce this exposure further by arranging a risky $12.5 billion (roughly Rs. 97,100) margin loan tied to the shares of Tesla, but then scrapped it last month. Preferred equity would pay a fixed dividend from Twitter, in the same way that a bond or a loan pays regular interest but would appreciate in line with the equity value of the company.Buyer's remorseThe deal uncertainty has also weighed on the plans of banks to get $13 billion (roughly Rs. 1,01,000 crore) of debt they have committed to the acquisition off their books through syndication. While still preparing to syndicate the debt, the banks plan to wait until there is clarity on the deal to launch the process, the sources said. The banks do not believe credit investors will buy into the debt as long as the uncertainty lingers, the sources said. The banks have also found Musk's disparaging public comments about the company unhelpful, and were hoping he would be helping them by now with investor presentations to syndicate the deal, the sources added. To be sure, the halt of these activities does not affect the commitments made by Musk and the banks to fund the deal. Twitter can take them to court to force them to comply with their financing obligations under the deal contract if they come short. The syndication of the debt could emerge as a major issue for the banks were Musk's dispute with Twitter to escalate in litigation and they were forced by a judge to fund the deal. In that scenario, they could struggle to get investors to buy the debt if Musk were unwilling to own the company. That possibility, however, is seen as remote. Most investors are trading Twitter's stock on the assumption it is far more likely for the company to reach a settlement with Musk or let him walk away, rather than go through protracted litigation.—REUTERS

Elon Musk's efforts to arrange new financing that will limit his cash contribution to his $44 billion (roughly Rs. 3,41,800) acquisition of Twitter have been put on hold because of the uncertainty surrounding the deal, people familiar with the matter said.

Elon Musk's Twitter deal threats said to put new financing on hold

Islamabad: Pakistan has lodged a strong protest against Indias recent blocking of many of its official Twitter accounts, including handles of Pakistani diplomatic missions in various countries.The Foreign Office on Saturday summoned Indian Charge d'Affairs in Islamabad to hand over a strong demarche, terming the Indian action being against international obligations and norms."The Indian Charge d'Affaires in Islamabad was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today and a strong demarche was made on the Indian government's blocking of access to content of 80 accounts on Twitter including accounts of Pakistan's diplomatic Missions in Iran, Turkey, Egypt, UN-New York and the national broadcaster Radio Pakistan, by activating geo-blocking and censorship laws," said a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."The Charge d'Affaires was conveyed that these Indian actions were against the international standards, obligations, norms, and framework of flow of information and reflected the alarming pace of shrinking space for pluralistic voices and curbing of fundamental freedoms in India." Pakistan maintained that blocking of its twitter accounts of its diplomatic missions abroad was a clear and deliberate attempt to block Pakistan's right to access to information and "fundamental freedom of opinion of expression"."It was noted that the new illegal practice employed by the Indian government of regulating the internet sphere with regard to diplomatic accounts, with a clear intent to stifle dissent stood completely against the rights to access to information and fundamental freedom of opinion or expression," the statement said.Pakistan was faced with this issue when at least 80 of its official twitter accounts of diplomatic missions in important countries were blocked by Twitter.Pakistan raised the matter with the micro-blogging site, and called for an immediate restoration of the handles which were banned by India."Diminishing the space for plurality of voices and access to info in India is extremely alarming. Social media platforms must abide by applicable international norms; we are urging twitter to restore immediate access to our accounts and ensure adherence to democratic freedom of speech and expression," the Foreign Office had said after it raised the matter with Twitter.Pakistan also accused India for blocking accounts of senior journalists and experts in India, who have been critical of the Central government and have questioned its policies."Government of India has been urged to immediately reverse its actions relating to the blocking of Pakistan's diplomatic Missions' Twitter accounts in India. India must also abide by the established international norms and standards as espoused by the UN and also ensure protection of fundamental freedoms and respect for dissent," the Office maintained. —IANS

Pakistan has lodged a strong protest against Indias recent blocking of many of its official Twitter accounts, including handles of Pakistani diplomatic missions in various countries.

Pak Registers Protest On India's Recent Blocking Of Twitter Accounts

New Delhi : Twitter has moved the Karnataka High Court against the Indian government’s order to take down some content on its platform, on the grounds that the content blocking orders from the IT Ministry do not pass “the test of the grounds provided under Section 69A of the IT Act”, reliable sources said on Tuesday.Twitter has alleged in its writ petition that multiple accounts and content included in the blocking orders are either “overbroad and arbitrary”, fail to provide notice to the “originators” of the content, and are “disproportionate” in several cases, sources told IANS.The social media platform alleged in the court petition that several blocking orders that were issued to Twitter only “cite” the grounds of Section 69A but fail to demonstrate how the content falls within those grounds or how the said content is “violative” of Section 69A, the sources added.In a June letter, the IT Ministry had warned Twitter of strict action if it does not comply with some content takedown orders.According to sources, Twitter has now sought judicial review of some of the content that forms a part of various blocking orders, requesting relief from the court to set aside these blocking orders.The IT Ministry was yet to react to Twitter’s move.According to the writ petition, account-level blocking is a “principally disproportionate measure” and “violates rights of users under the constitution, especially when the reasons stated to block URLs and reasons stated to block an account lack specificity and merely cite grounds under Section 69A”.The MeitY itself, in various filings in the Delhi High Court, stated that if only some portion or some content is unlawful, then the platform may take proportionate action of removing such alleged information alone, and should not completely suspend the user account.“In fact, MeitY has noted that taking down the whole user account should be a last resort,” the writ petition alleged.In the June letter, the MeitY set out serious consequences of non-compliance, including, but not limited to, initiating criminal proceedings against Twitter’s Chief Compliance Officer, and granted last opportunity to comply with a series of blocking orders which are issued under the Section 69A of India’s IT Act.The letter also threatened that failing to do so would cause Twitter to lose its safe harbour immunity as available to it under Section 79(1) of the IT Act.Due to the seriousness of these threats, Twitter has chosen to challenge several blocking orders issued by the MeitY under Section 69A through the legal mechanism of a writ petition before the High Court of Karnataka.“These blocking orders are being challenged on the basis that they are procedurally and substantially deficient of the Section 69A requirements,” according to the sources who have seen the writ petition.Earlier this month, Delhi Police sent a notice to Twitter seeking details of the account that led to the arrest of fact-checking website Alt News’ co-founder Mohammed Zubair.Twitter was also involved in a legal battle in the Delhi High Court last year with the Centre over not complying with the new IT Rules, 2021. IANS

Twitter has moved the Karnataka High Court against the Indian government’s order to take down some content on its platform, on the grounds that the content blocking orders from the IT Ministry do not pass “the test of the grounds provided under Section 69A of the IT Act”, reliable sources said on Tuesday.

 Twitter takes Indian govt to court over 'arbitrary' content blocking orders (Ld)

<h2>New Delhi :&nbsp;&nbsp;The latest Centre-Twitter legal battle over repeated content blocking orders by the IT Ministry has brought an old debate to the fore — is the country finally ready to penalise foreign intermediaries and social media platforms for not obeying the law of the land or is there still a long way to go?</h2>Unlike the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), and tougher cyber laws in countries like Singapore, South Korea and Australia, the Indian government is using several agencies to tame social media platforms in the absence of a nodal cyber regulator that separately deals with Big Tech.In India, Twitter is in the eye of storm for not complying often with the new IT (intermediary) Rules, 2021.The micro-blogging platform even witnessed a police raid on its offices in Delhi and Gurugram related to the alleged Congress toolkit controversy last year.Twitter was at loggerheads with the Indian government last year over removal of certain posts and being compliant with the intermediary guidelines under the IT Act.As and when the government sends stern notices to Twitter, Google, YouTube and Meta (formerly Facebook) under the available laws (like Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000) to remove controversial content, the platforms immediately knock at the door of the courts, resulting in zero action.The tussle between Twitter, WhatsApp/Facebook and the government has reached its nadir, and the fact is that an absence of a stricter personal data protection law is forcing the concerned authorities to take routes like writing heaps of notices that have resulted in zero action to date, while social networking giants continue to take the country for a ride.According to experts, while the government can initiate action for suspension or blocking of intermediary apps or websites if they fail to comply with its directions over various issues under current laws, a strong data protection law is what can tame the social media platforms, the way the GDPR in the EU has achieved.In case Twitter fails to comply with the government directions, the latter has the powers to resort to penal consequences.“In that direction, appropriate FIRs can be registered against intermediaries and service providers and their top management can also be made liable for the said contravention under Section 85 of the IT Act, 2000,” Pavan Duggal, one of the country’s top cyber law experts, noted.The government can exercise its power under Section 69(A)(1). In case, any service provider or intermediary fails to comply with the provisions of the same, there are penal consequences prescribed under Section 69A(3) too.Non-compliance with directions for blocking is a non-bailable serious offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.India has to learn from the EU when it comes to formulating a legal framework to secure data and tackle hateful or abusive online content, the experts said.The EU GDPR has been designed to harmonise data privacy laws across Europe — to protect and empower all EU citizens’ data privacy and to reshape the way organisations across the region approach data privacy.The Indian government, time and again, has told Internet intermediaries and social media platforms to comply with the law of the land.IANS

The latest Centre-Twitter legal battle over repeated content blocking orders by the IT Ministry has brought an old debate to the fore — is the country finally ready to penalise foreign intermediaries and social media platforms for not obeying the law of the land or is there still a long way to go? Unlike the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), and tougher cyber laws in countries like Singapore, South Korea and Australia, the Indian government is using several agencies to tame social media platforms in the absence of a nodal cyber regulator that separately deals with Big Tech.In India, Twitter is in the eye of storm for not complying often with the new IT (intermediary) Rules, 2021.

 India needs clearer personal data protection law to tame Twitter, others

The latest Centre-Twitter legal battle over repeated content blocking orders by the IT Ministry has brought an old debate to the fore — is the country finally ready to penalise foreign intermediaries and social media platforms for not obeying the law of the land or is there still a long way to go?
Unlike the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), and tougher cyber laws in countries like Singapore, South Korea and Australia, the Indian government is using several agencies to tame social media platforms in the absence of a nodal cyber regulator that separately deals with Big Tech.In India, Twitter is in the eye of storm for not complying often with the new IT (intermediary) Rules, 2021.

New Delhi : The latest Centre-Twitter legal battle over repeated content blocking orders by the IT Ministry has brought an old debate to the fore -- is the country finally ready to penalise foreign intermediaries and social media platforms for not obeying the law of the land or is there still a long way to go? Unlike the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), and tougher cyber laws in countries like Singapore, South Korea and Australia, the Indian government is using several agencies to tame social media platforms in the absence of a nodal cyber regulator that separately deals with Big Tech. In India, Twitter is in the eye of storm for not complying often with the new IT (intermediary) Rules, 2021. The micro-blogging platform even witnessed a police raid on its offices in Delhi and Gurugram related to the alleged Congress toolkit controversy last year. Twitter was at loggerheads with the Indian government last year over removal of certain posts and being compliant with the intermediary guidelines under the IT Act. As and when the government sends stern notices to Twitter, Google, YouTube and Meta (formerly Facebook) under the available laws (like Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000) to remove controversial content, the platforms immediately knock at the door of the courts, resulting in zero action. The tussle between Twitter, WhatsApp/Facebook and the government has reached its nadir, and the fact is that an absence of a stricter personal data protection law is forcing the concerned authorities to take routes like writing heaps of notices that have resulted in zero action to date, while social networking giants continue to take the country for a ride. According to experts, while the government can initiate action for suspension or blocking of intermediary apps or websites if they fail to comply with its directions over various issues under current laws, a strong data protection law is what can tame the social media platforms, the way the GDPR in the EU has achieved. In case Twitter fails to comply with the government directions, the latter has the powers to resort to penal consequences. "In that direction, appropriate FIRs can be registered against intermediaries and service providers and their top management can also be made liable for the said contravention under Section 85 of the IT Act, 2000," Pavan Duggal, one of the country's top cyber law experts, noted. The government can exercise its power under Section 69(A)(1). In case, any service provider or intermediary fails to comply with the provisions of the same, there are penal consequences prescribed under Section 69A(3) too. Non-compliance with directions for blocking is a non-bailable serious offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine. India has to learn from the EU when it comes to formulating a legal framework to secure data and tackle hateful or abusive online content, the experts said. The EU GDPR has been designed to harmonise data privacy laws across Europe -- to protect and empower all EU citizens' data privacy and to reshape the way organisations across the region approach data privacy. The Indian government, time and again, has told Internet intermediaries and social media platforms to comply with the law of the land. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a tweet that all foreign intermediaries and platforms have a right to approach the court and judicial review in India. "But equally, all intermediary/platforms operating here have an unambiguous obligation to comply with our laws and rules," Chandrasekhar posted last week, as Twitter moved the Karnataka High Court against the government's order to take down some content on its platform. IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that "be it any company, in any sector, they should abide by the laws of India". Twitter has clearly said that these blocking orders are being challenged on the basis that "they are procedurally and substantially deficient of the Section 69A requirements". The micro-blogging platform last year clearly stated that they will listen to the Indian government's content removal demands seriously only when the Personal Data Protection Bill is firmly in place. The proposed Personal Data Protection Bill also has provisions that impose heavy penalties on companies for non-compliance. It has also proposed to term social media companies as publishers, which will make them liable for the content on their platforms. The moot question is: Once the global tech giants respond to government notices, the matter ends and according to leading experts, data of crores of Indians are still being misused in the absence of a robust mechanism. "As of today, India does not have a dedicated law on privacy or on cyber security," Duggal pointed out. "It does not have a legal framework in place for protecting all kinds of data. The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 is pending consideration before the Joint Parliamentary Committee. Further, India does not have a dedicated policy on data localisation." According to legal experts, India must fight social media biggies with a strong data protection law in place. --- IANS

The latest Centre-Twitter legal battle over repeated content blocking orders by the IT Ministry has brought an old debate to the fore -- is the country finally ready to penalise foreign intermediaries and social media platforms for not obeying the law of the land or is there still a long way to go?

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