Montana becomes the first US state to ban TikTok
Governor Greg Gianforte has signed a bill that bans TikTok in Montana, making it the first US state to do so. He says that the decision was taken in order "to protect Montanans' personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party".
A month ago, the state legislature passed a bill that requires app stores to block the service, and having been signed by Gianforte, the law will come into force next year. The law bans TikTok from operating in Montana, with daily fines of $10,000 in case of violations. TikTok is expected to fight the ban with the claim that it infringes on users' First Amendment rights.
If you're a Discord user, you're probably going to be forced to change your username very soon
It's a decision that could have been taken years ago, but Discord has finally decided to change its odd policy on usernames.
The gaming-focused social chat platform has long forced users to put up with name that end in a four-digit "discriminator", but this is coming to an end. Discord has announced that the four digits at the end of usernames are to be removed, and this means that many users will be forced to choose new handles.
Interest may be growing in Twitter rival Bluesky, but Mozilla is betting on Mastodon
With changes implemented by Elon Musk having disastrous consequences for Twitter, there has been something of an exodus of users. It is "something of an exodus", because while many people are finding new social homes on the likes of T2, Spoutible, Mastodon or -- if they can get their hands on an invite code -- Jack Dorsey's Bluesky, many people are hedging their bets and maintaining something of a presence on Twitter until it becomes a little clearer what the likely successor is to be.
Realistically, the battle seems likely be fought between Mastodon and Bluesky, and Mozilla has just announced an expansion of its investment in the former. The company behind the Firefox web browser has launched its own Mastodon instance, Mozilla.social, in private beta.
WhatsApp makes a very strange change to disappearing messages
WhatsApp is not alone in offering a disappearing message feature. It is an idea that's fairly self-explanatory: messages can be configured to automatically delete after a certain period of time -- something that's ideal for certain sensitive information.
But in a slightly confusing move, WhatsApp is introducing the option to stop disappearing messages from disappearing. The option is called Keep In Chat, and it is being described as "your new sender superpower".
Twitter quietly updates Hateful Conduct policy to remove protections for transgender users
Twitter has undergone some huge changes since Elon Musk took over at the social media platform, many of which have been very public. But others, like a recent update to its Hateful Content policy, have been quietly slipped out without announcement.
The policy change sees Twitter removing sections that specifically protected transgender users. This means that a long-standing ban on the purposeful deadnaming or misgendering of trans users has been lifted, leading to condemnation from LGBTQIA+ groups and angering the trans community.
Twitter is now owned by X Corp as Elon Musk announces legacy blue checks will vanish in a puff of smoke on 4/20
Twitter Inc no longer exists, having been merged into Elon Musk's X Corp. The change was spotted in documents relating to a lawsuit against Twitter, and it continues the CEO's drive to create X, "the everything app".
And having already made a great deal of fuss and noise about killing off "legacy" verification blue checks to force people to buy a Twitter Blue subscription, Musk has announced a new "final date" for their removal. It is 4/20. Because of course it is.
Elon Musk says that only verified (i.e. paying) Twitter users will be able to vote in polls and appear on the For You tab
Having tried various tactics to get Twitter users to pay for a Twitter Blue subscription, Elon Musk is now trying something new -- confiscation.
Having tried bribing users with Blue-exclusive features, and threatening non-subscribers with stripping them of verified status, the latest announcement sees Musk promising to take features away from anyone who doesn't pay up. Specifically, he warns that non-verified users will not be eligible to appear in the suggestions on the For You Tab, and they also will not be able to vote in polls on Twitter.
Twitter says it is stripping all verified accounts of their 'legacy' blue ticks from April
With the chaos that has followed the arrival of Elon Musk at Twitter, it's often difficult to know which announcements to accept at face value, and which to take with a pinch of salt.
The latest announcement concerns the blue ticks used to signify verified accounts. The social platform has announced that "legacy" checkmarks (that is, those that have not been paid for) will be removed starting on April 1 -- April Fool's Day.
Twitter now shows how many times a tweet has been bookmarked
For fans of statistics, or anyone who has an idle curiosity, Twitter has introduced a new bookmark count feature. As well as making it possible for anyone to judge the interest an individual tweet has generated, the new analytics are useful for companies and individuals looking for a more accessible way to track interactions.
While there will be privacy concerns associated with this, Twitter assures users that "your Bookmarks are still private", promising that "we'll never display which accounts have added a Tweet to their Bookmarks".
Twitter to roll out direct message updates including encryption and 'any emoji reactions'
Things have been undeniably chaotic at Twitter since the arrival of Elon Musk, but the social network is still rolling out new features. Next in line for an update are direct messages.
DMs are due to receive a batch of new features and functionality, not least of which is a much-requested security feature -- encryption. But there is much more to look forward to. And if all goes according to plan, the new features will roll out later this month.
Twitter updates its Violent Speech Policy to ban wishing ill on others... unless it is hyperbolic
Twitter has announced its latest update that limits what users may and may not post on the social platform. In the latest version of its Violent Speech Policy, the company now bans not only threats of harm, but also wishes of harm to others.
The policy still prevents users from posting what Twitter describes as "violent threats", "incitement of violence" and "glorification of violence". The update adds that users also "may not wish, hope, or express desire for harm", going on to explain that "this includes (but is not limited to) hoping for others to die, suffer illnesses, tragic incidents, or experience other physically harmful consequences".
Twitter could be about to open source its algorithm
There is a great deal to be said in favor of making software, apps and code available on an open source basis. And this is particularly true of the algorithms that influence so many aspects of life, and control what is seen online.
Now Elon Musk has suggested that Twitter's own algorithm could be made open source -- perhaps as soon as next week.
Now you can pay to get verified on Facebook and Instagram as Meta takes a leaf out of Twitter's book
Not to be outdone by Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg has taken to Instagram to announce the rollout of a paid-for Meta Verified program. While it is already possible to receive a Twitter-style blue tick of verification on Facebook and Instagram, the new subscription service will give users the opportunity to pay for the badge.
Echoing the claims of Musk, Zuckerberg says that "this new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services". With a charge of between $12 and $15 per month, there is obviously a financial benefit for Meta as well.
Twitter delays the rollout of paid API access yet again, and confirms researchers will lose free access
Free access to the Twitter API was meant to end yesterday, but the company has announced that there will be a brief stay of execution. Having already extended the cut-off by four days, Twitter now says that "we will be delaying the launch of our new API platform by a few more days".
The delay is blamed on "an immense amount of enthusiasm for the upcoming changes with Twitter API", but the lack of detail and clarity about what is happening is causing confusion and anger. Over the weekend, the company also contacted academic researchers to inform them that they will be losing free access to the API as well; it had previously been expected that such education and research-related usage would remain free.
Twitter reveals scant details of its controversial changes to API access, including 'a new form of free access'
There has been a lot of backlash against Twitter's plans to stop offering free access to its API, a move that will result in many bots, apps and services no longer working. Free access to the Twitter API was due to end on February 9, but now the company has given this cut-off a very brief extension as it reveals details of paid API access tiers, as well as sketchy information about a new, limited, free tier.
The extension to free access is very brief indeed -- just an extra four days, making the new end date February 13. Twitter has also shared information about pricing for what it describes as "paid basic access" to the API. While on the face of things, the $100 per month price tag is not high, for hobbyist developers with bots and apps, this will be too much.
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