Your Tech Story

Twitter

Ex-Twitter Executives Win $1.1 Million Legal Fees From Musk’s X

Ex-Twitter Executives Win $1.1 Million Legal Fees From Musk’s X

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News, twitter / By

A judge ordered that X Corporation, previously known as Twitter, must pay a total of 1.1 million dollars in legal costs accrued by a number of the social networking site’s former senior executives.

Ex-Twitter Executives Win $1.1 Million Legal Fees From Musk’s X
Image Source: www.hindustantimes.com

Parag Agrawal, the former chief executive officer of Twitter, and Vijaya Gadde, a former top lawyer, directed the group’s legal team in convincing Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick on Tuesday that Twitter had broken its obligation to pay the legal costs associated with their work for the firm.

The ex-executives said that by refusing to pay the amounts despite the fact they were connected to inquiries into the activities of the social networking site, Twitter violated its own rules. When Elon Musk, a billionaire, acquired the business for the price of $44 billion last year, they were fired.

Due to his inability to pay Twitter providers for services like rent and consulting costs, Musk has been the target of several lawsuits.

Company representatives didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on McCormick’s decision on Tuesday right away. She presided over the court case involving Musk’s bid to have his $54.20 per share deal to purchase the social media company dismissed. In October 2022, he gave up trying to have the buyout declared invalid.

According to court documents, the business has reimbursed roughly 600,000 dollars of its debt but kept $1,158,427 in fees for attorneys’ work defending its previous executives in a congressional investigation into the impact of social media on elections in the United States, which required Gadde to testify before the House Committee on Reform and Oversight.

One of the business’s attorneys, Michael Blanchard, said that X executives had sticker shock after receiving the cost from Gadde’s lawyers, which they deemed to be quite unreasonable.

Also Read: Zoom Adds Features Like Document Editing in Bid to Compete With Microsoft

The expenses, as stated by Blanchard, were for a single day of testimony, not multiple years’ worth of dispute. Officials from X believed the proposal to be an absolute exploitation of the business’s legal obligation to compensate employees for work done on its behalf.

McCormick stated Delaware courts inclined in favor of allowing CEOs’ requests for legal cost reimbursement when connected to their representation of firms after considering the arguments. She claimed that she didn’t see any justification for departing from the usual in this instance.

X to Get Rid of Ability to Block Accounts, Owner Elon Musk Says

X to Get Rid of Ability to Block Accounts, Owner Elon Musk Says

Leave a Comment / News, Social media, Tech News, twitter / By

As the platform change continues, Musk is presently making his first trip to Japan in more than nine years. Particularly, it has undergone significant branding adjustments, moving away from Twitter and evolving into X. Now providing a significant modification to its features and services.

X to Get Rid of Ability to Block Accounts, Owner Elon Musk Says
Image Source: thesouthafrican.com

A number of the richest people in the world have had a very fascinating few months. He has announced a legal war with fellow internet billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and implemented a temporary makeover to the social media network he possesses. He is now promising that the application will shortly be discontinued without a long-held functionality.

Elon Musk has specifically said that blocking accounts would no longer be an option on X, formerly known as Twitter. Tesla’s chief executive officer reacted to a message asking whether it is ever appropriate to mute or block someone else. The function would thereafter, according to Musk, quickly be deleted since it makes absolutely no sense.

“Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature,’ except for DMs,” Musk tweeted in response to a question by Tesla Owners in Silicon Valley. “It makes no sense.”

forbes.com

“These individuals do not seek discourse; they aim to inflict pain,” the organization said in a response to Musk. “Blocking is a necessary step to ensure that these harmful voices don’t persist in their repetitive attacks on memory.”

forbes.com

The Auschwitz Memorial’s X profile instantly argued against this claim, claiming that the association censors those who incite hate as well as holocaust denial.

Also Read:  WhatsApp now allows users to share HD images; check how to use this new feature

Nevertheless, as others have pointed out, X cannot simply decide to stop allowing users to be blocked if Musk & CEO Linda Yaccarino desire to continue using well-known international distribution platforms like the App Store for iOS or the Android platform’s Google Play. Apps that provide user-generated material must provide blocking as a functionality, according to Apple’s App Store safety rules.

The wealthy owner has referred to himself as an ardent supporter of free expression, but some have criticised his attitude as being reckless. Since he became over, analysts have discovered a rise in offensive content and discriminatory material on the site, and several governments have charged the firm with failing to act properly to control its content.

Twitter

Is Twitter changing its logo to an ‘X’?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By

After recognizing that sponsors have been hesitant about coming back, Twitter Inc. owner Elon Musk sent an indication on Sunday that he would be doing more to steer the social networking firm on a fresh path with a makeover that would change its widely recognized blue bird logo by a letter X.

The adjustment was made as a result of Elon Musk’s latest revelation that marketing revenue is still only about half what it previously was; however, it was not immediately apparent on the site’s homepage on Sunday evening. And as a consequence of it and its high debt level, the platform’s financial performance has been negative.

Twitter
Image Source: techcrunch.com

The decision, according to Mike Proulx who is a research director at Forrester, would even more disturb Twitter’s setting down and once highly devoted user base.

 “On the one hand, you can make the argument he would be getting rid of an iconic brand. On the other hand, he is signaling it is a new day for what was once Twitter and that the company is heading in a different direction with a different user base.”

Source: reuters.com

In a message published on Sunday, billionaire businessman Musk expressed his desire to alter Twitter’s logo and asked his millions of supporters if they would support switching the website’s blue color palette to black.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Unpacked July 2023: Everything to expect

He shared a photo of a stylized X on a black backdrop with an astronaut motif.

“And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” he said.

Source: reuters.com

On a late Sunday afternoon, Twitter’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino in a tweet stated that it is an exceptionally difficult thing to get a second chance, whether it is life or business. Twitter left a lasting effect and revolutionized communication. The global town square will now go through an additional modification which was only possible because of X.

The firm has modified its name to X Corp according to Musk’s turbulent leadership since he purchased Twitter in October, symbolizing the billionaire’s desire to become a “super application,” similar to China’s WeChat.

Twitter’s iconic blue bird logo in April was momentarily substituted by “The Shiba Inu dog” from Dogecoin which contributed to a hike in the cryptocurrency’s value on the market.

When Musk revealed at the beginning of the month that Twitter will limit the number of tweets per day different accounts may view, the business received harsh criticism from consumers and marketing experts.

Twitter

Twitter says users must be verified to access TweetDeck

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By

Twitter recently made an announcement stating that users will soon be required to verify their accounts in order to utilize TweetDeck, a widely-used social media management tool.

This new policy is set to take effect within the next 30 days. In the same tweet, Twitter also unveiled an enhanced version of TweetDeck, showcasing various new features and functionalities. However, it remains uncertain whether Twitter intends to charge users for both the upgraded and previous versions of TweetDeck.

Twitter
Image Source: techcrunch.com

The introduction of fees for TweetDeck, which was previously free and extensively utilized by businesses and news organizations for content monitoring, could potentially provide a substantial revenue boost for Twitter. This is particularly relevant as the company has encountered challenges in retaining advertising revenue since Elon Musk took ownership.

This move comes shortly after Elon Musk’s recent announcement that both verified and unverified users would face limitations on the number of daily posts they can read. Musk’s intention behind this limitation was to address concerns related to extensive data scraping and system manipulation.

Also Read: Google to block news in Canada over law on paying publishers

However, Musk’s statement received significant backlash from Twitter users, while advertising experts expressed concerns about the potential negative impact on the new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, who assumed the position just last month.

To acquire verification on Twitter, individuals will now be required to pay a monthly fee of $8, whereas organizations will need to pay $1,000 per month. Verification badges serve as a means of establishing authenticity and credibility on the platform. Twitter’s decision to monetize this feature could potentially create a new revenue stream for the company.

By implementing mandatory verification for TweetDeck and introducing fees for account verification, Twitter aims to enhance user trust and combat issues such as spam, misinformation, and fake accounts. These measures align with the broader industry trend of prioritizing platform security and authenticity.

However, the reception of these changes and their impact on user experience and adoption remains uncertain. It remains to be seen how users will respond to the introduction of fees for TweetDeck and whether the potential benefits for Twitter’s revenue will outweigh any negative impacts on user satisfaction and platform usage.

TweetDeck is a widely used social media management tool that allows users to effectively monitor and manage their Twitter accounts. It was initially launched as an independent application in 2008 and was later acquired by Twitter in 2011.

TweetDeck offers a range of features designed to streamline the Twitter experience for individuals, businesses, and organizations. Users can view multiple timelines in a single interface, making it easier to follow and engage with conversations across different accounts. The platform supports the management of multiple Twitter accounts, allowing users to switch between profiles seamlessly.

Twitter

What does Twitter ‘rate limit exceeded’ mean for users?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By

Twitter has implemented a temporary limit on the number of tweets users can view each day, causing some controversy and potentially affecting the platform’s advertising prospects.

The move is aimed at addressing excessive data scraping and system manipulation. Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter in a $44 billion deal last year, has made several changes to the platform since then.

Twitter
Image Source: belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Under the new restrictions, users must log in to view tweets. Verified accounts are permitted to read up to 6,000 posts daily, unverified accounts are limited to 600 posts, and new unverified accounts are restricted to 300 posts. Once users reach these limits, they receive a message stating that they have exceeded the rate limit.

However, Musk has announced plans to increase the limits to 10,000 for verified accounts, 1,000 for unverified accounts, and 500 for new unverified accounts in the near future.

Musk’s objective is to make Twitter’s revamped verified service more appealing. He introduced paid subscriptions for verified badges, which were previously awarded to notable profiles. Different tiers of badges, including gray, blue, and golden, were also introduced.

Musk claims that these limits will help combat the extensive data scraping conducted by a wide range of entities, from AI companies and startups to large tech companies. He expressed frustration at having to allocate significant resources to accommodate the valuation demands of certain AI startups.

Also Read: Is Spotify considering full-length music videos on its app?

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, which utilize massive amounts of internet data to generate various outputs such as poems and images, rely on training data from platforms like Twitter. Consequently, several Twitter users expressed their discontent with the limits, leading to hashtags like “#TwitterDown” and “RIP Twitter” trending on the platform in recent days.

These restrictions disproportionately impact accounts operated by information agencies, journalists, and monitoring services, as they rely on reviewing thousands of tweets daily.

The backlash against the limits stems from concerns about hindering the flow of information and impeding the work of these entities. However, Musk’s aim is to strike a balance between addressing data scraping concerns and ensuring a functional and valuable platform for users.

Following Elon Musk’s announcement of limits on Twitter, alternative platforms such as Bluesky and Mastodon experienced a significant increase in user activity. Bluesky, a platform initiated by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and currently in beta mode, reported a surge in traffic, reaching “record high” levels on Saturday. As a result, Bluesky temporarily halted new sign-ups to manage the influx of users.

Similarly, Mastodon, another alternative platform, witnessed substantial growth in its active user base. Eugen Rochko, the creator and CEO of Mastodon, stated that the platform saw a rise of 110,000 users on the same day.

In summary, the limitations imposed on Twitter prompted a notable migration of users to alternative platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon, resulting in increased activity and engagement on those platforms.

Twitter

Why Music Publishers are suing Twitter?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By

On Wednesday, 17 music publishers filed a lawsuit against Twitter in federal court in Nashville, Tennessee. They claimed that by allowing users to upload music without a license, the company was complicit in thousands of copyright violations.

The lawsuit claimed that “numerous infringing copies of musical compositions” are used on Twitter to increase user engagement.

Twitter
Image Source: engadget.com

For claimed violations of nearly 1,700 copyrights, members of the National Music Publishers’ Association, including Sony Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, and Universal Music Publishing Group, are suing for more than $250 million in damages.

Also Read: Google launches AI-powered advertiser features

Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October, the long-standing violation, according to the lawsuit, has gotten worse, since other significant platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube have legitimate music licenses from the publishers.

According to the NMPA President David Israelite, Twitter “stands alone as the largest social media platform that has completely refused to license the millions of songs on its service.” The lawsuit includes Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Ed Sheeran, the Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, Miranda Lambert, and Rihanna among the artists it represents.

The lawsuit claimed that Twitter “routinely ignores” repeat infringers who send out messages containing illegal music. The publishers claimed that Twitter encourages user infringement, giving it an “unfair advantage” over platforms that purchase music licenses by raising engagement and ad revenues.

He slammed Twitter for consistently failing to take action against individuals who repeatedly violate the terms of service by tweeting lyrics from unlicensed songs.

The claim made by the music publishers is that Twitter actively promotes user infringement, using it to raise user engagement, boost advertising revenue, and obtain an unfair competitive advantage over other platforms that pay for music licenses.

The publishers said that, since Musk took over, “Twitter’s internal affairs regarding matters pertaining to this case are in disarray,” pointing out significant staff reductions to the company’s legal and trust and safety departments.

In general, music publishers and copyright holders can take legal action against various platforms, including social media platforms like Twitter, if they believe that their copyrighted music is being used without proper authorization or licensing.

This could involve users on the platform sharing copyrighted music without permission or platforms allowing the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material.

Music publishers typically hold the rights to the songs and compositions created by songwriters and composers. They rely on licensing agreements and copyright protection to ensure that they are compensated for the use of their copyrighted material.

If they believe that Twitter or its users are infringing on these rights, they may choose to take legal action to protect their interests and seek damages.