RIDGEWOOD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 27, 2023--

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 7, 2023--

Workers were seen on Monday dismantling a giant light-up ‘X’ sign on top of the downtown San Francisco headquarters of X, formerly known as Twitter, following an investigation from city officials that the social media company put up the new sign without proper permits. Earlier this month, Twitter completed its rebranding to X, part of CEO Elon Musk’s larger plan to turn the social networking site into an “everything app” like China’s WeChat. To commemorate the occasion, the company began taking down its well-known sign with its old blue bird logo, which long stood over the intersection of 10th and Market Street. That effort quickly ran into issues. Last Monday, police showed up and stopped the workers removing the bird sign, alleging the company didn’t have proper permits, and hadn’t taped off the sidewalk below the project, putting pedestrians at risk of falling debris, according to The Associated Press. Once the new, short-lived X sign went up, people in neighbouring buildings complained that the installation was strobing extremely bright light into their homes and businesses at all hours. Over the weekend, city building inspectors sought to investigate the "structure on [the] roof without permit", but were refused access to X headquarters on Friday and Saturday, according to city records obtained by The San Francisco Standard. The company told the inspectors the sign was only temporary, and was installed for an event, according to the records. The Independent has contacted X for comment. The kerfuffle over the sign is the latest incident in what’s been a tumultuous period under the new management of Elon Musk. The company has laid off thousands of people since the tech billionaire took over, including key members of its content moderation and human rights teams. During the winter, users exploiting oversights on a new paid verification tier impersonated major public companies, causing chaos for their share prices with pranks like an Eli Lilly imposter declaring that insulin was now free. Twitter has lost nearly half of its advertising revenue since Mr Musk took over, according to Mr Musk, and has laid off about half of X’s formerly 7,500-person staff. Read More Trump's early work to set rules for nominating contest notches big win in delegate-rich California X threatens to sue researchers who accused Twitter of allowing ‘hate to prosper’ Forecast calls for 108? Phoenix will take it, as record-breaking heat expected to end Thick smoke clouds billow from tractor-trailer fire next to Philadelphia bridge UK sanctions six people after British-Russian dissident’s appeal rejected Co-ordinated strike action by teachers in autumn off as unions accept pay rise

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A US watchdog has filed a compliant against Elon Musk’s X – previously Twitter – calling for an investigation over the platform’s advertising practices, including the alleged non-disclosure of some posts as ads. The non-profit organisation Check My Ads filed the complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission about the lack of labeling of some posts as ads, arguing that such content on the platform could mislead users. “This misrepresentation tricks users into trusting content as organic and exacerbates the opportunity for scams to occur,” the complaint noted. “Furthermore, by failing to adequately disclose advertisements, X Corp. misrepresents the methods employed to target users or facilitate third-party ad targeting,” it said. After initially spotting instances of adverts on X not being labelled, the watchdog called out users on the microblogging platform in September to flag more such instances they spot. In the following weeks, it gatherd information on “hundreds of unlabelled ads” from several users to build a case to the FTC, demanding X to be investigated. “Not marking ads is no small thing. As the complaint points out, unlabeled ads could trick users into thinking content is organic, increasing the chance for scams,” Check My Ads explained in a blog post. With unlabelled ads on social media platforms, people also have no way to know they are being targetted. While X is set up to explain why any user is seeing a particular ad with a hyperlink, the watchdog found that these links are “frequently broken”. “X Corp.’s lack of disclosures to consumers, misrepresentations to advertisers, and flawed access to explanations about targeted advertising constitute unfair and deceptive practices,“ Check My Ads’ policy director Sarah Kay Wiley said. “We urge the Commission to determine the extent of these violations and address them to the full extent of its authority,” Ms Wiley said. X did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment. The complaint comes as X countinues different approaches, including new paid for services, to shore up more revenue, which is down 60 per cent since Mr Musk took over the company. While once advert posts had the word “promoted” below them, they now are seen with a smaller “ad” label, which do not seem to appear on some posts as the complaint mentions. Users have also complained on the platform that they are sometimes even unable to block or report some unlabeled ads. Read More Elon Musk’s new AI bot will help you make cocaine which proves it’s ‘rebellious’ How Elon Musk’s ‘spicy’ Grok compares to ‘woke’ ChatGPT Elon Musk unveils new sarcasm-loving AI chatbot for premium X subscribers VR tool aims to help rail passengers spot and safely tackle sexual harassment WhatsApp warning over fee to keep old messages ChatGPT Plus stops signups after major update

Amouranth seemed agitated as she placed the firecracker carefully on the ground, took a moment to gaze at the camera, before sprinting away

For nearly 13 million high school students across China, Wednesday marks a day that could make or break their plans for college and the increasingly competitive job market beyond.

Less than six years after launching in the US, TikTok is now facing a reckoning. After amassing more than 150 million users in the country, lawmakers are now making moves to roll out a complete ban. The biggest ever Chinese tech success in the US is accused of mishandling user data and holding too much influence over Americans, with Montana becoming the first state to sign a bill into law to make it illegal for TikTok to operate there from January 2024. Fears around national security have been countered with questions about censorship, with the Electronic Frontier Foundation describing the prospect of a ban as a “seed of genuine security concern wrapped in a thick layer of censorship”. The US digital liberties group has called on people to “resist a governmental power to ban a popular means of communication and expression”, while the FBI claims Chinese state ties to parent company ByteDance could allow the app to “manipulate content” in order to spread harmful propaganda. The US is not the first major market to consider a total ban of the social media platform, with India issuing a complete TikTok ban in 2020. Other countries and areas, including the EU, have put partial bans in place. Various federal and state TikTok bans are already in place in the US, banning government workers and military personnel from using the app on official devices. This has done little to stem its growth in the US, with TikTok proving to be the most popular app both in America and globally last year with 672 million total downloads. This has helped bring the total number of TikTok users around the world to above 1.5 billion, with only India’s ban nearly three years ago slightly slowing its growth – but only temporarily. Despite the warnings surrounding TikTok, the app is viewed positively by the majority of young users, which may cause the Biden administration to hesitate on ordering an outright ban given younger demographics typically skew towards voting Democrat. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew defended the app and its intentions when he appeared before Congress earlier this year. The former Facebook intern downplayed ties to the Chinese government while trying to convince members of Congress that the app is safe for US users and poses no threat to national security. After Montana signed a TikTok ban into law on 17 May, 2023, a TikTok spokesperson said that the company would “work to defend the rights of our users” in all regions. Read More TikTok gains 50 million users in US as ban looms Schoolboy almost dies from swallowing magnets for TikTok challenge Woman shares honest review of New York City apartment TikTok mom slammed after making 5-year-old son run in 104 degree heat

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Litecoin, the world’s 11th-biggest cryptocurrency, saw its price slide on Wednesday after it went through a so-called halvening,