Twitter: TweetDeck will now be limited to verified users

Twitter has announced its intention to implement a new policy wherein user verification will be a prerequisite for utilizing TweetDeck, as stated in a tweet shared by the company on Monday.

As outlined in the company's official announcement, the change will come into effect after a 30-day timeline.

In a tweet, Twitter has disclosed the introduction of an enhanced edition of TweetDeck, accompanied by a list of new features. The company's communication did not clarify whether users will be subject to charges for both the upgraded and previous versions of TweetDeck. Twitter has not yet responded to inquiries seeking further clarification.

Twitter's decision to introduce charges for TweetDeck, a platform that was previously free and extensively utilized by businesses and news organizations to efficiently monitor content, has the potential to generate additional revenue for the company. This move comes as Twitter has faced challenges in sustaining advertising revenue under the ownership of billionaire Elon Musk.

Twitter's decision to require verification for both verified and unverified users accessing TweetDeck follows closely on the heels of Elon Musk's recent announcement. Musk stated that in an effort to combat excessive data scraping and system manipulation, users, regardless of their verification status, will have a restricted daily quota for the number of posts they can read.

The recent announcement by Elon Musk elicited strong opposition from Twitter users, resulting in a significant backlash. Moreover, advertising experts have expressed concerns that this decision may undermine the authority and effectiveness of Linda Yaccarino, who assumed the position of CEO just last month.

The account verification process on Twitter now entails a monthly fee of $8 for individual users, while organizations are required to pay $1,000 per month to obtain verification.

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Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey recently broke his silence in response to Elon Musk's implementation of viewing limits

Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, has entered the discourse surrounding the controversy sparked by Elon Musk's implementation of "view limits" on tweets.

In a recent tweet, Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, acknowledged the challenges of running the platform, expressing empathy and understanding for the stress involved. He expressed his trust in the team's efforts within the significant constraints they face, while recognizing his own tendency to critique decisions from a distance. Dorsey reaffirmed the shared goal of seeing Twitter thrive and expressed confidence in its future.

In a subsequent tweet, Jack Dorsey proposed the consideration of leveraging censorship-resistant open protocols such as bitcoin and nostr to alleviate the challenges associated with content moderation. He emphasized that this approach would not only benefit all stakeholders but also play a crucial role in preserving the openness of the internet.

As Elon Musk enforced limitations on the number of daily tweets users could access, Twitter users encountered technical issues on the platform. Musk explained that these limits were put in place to address concerns related to the high levels of data scraping and manipulation of the system.

Twitter introduced a graduated system for tweet viewing restrictions. Verified users, who subscribed to a monthly fee, initially had a daily limit of 6,000 posts, while unverified users were restricted to 600 posts per day. New unverified users had an even more limited allowance of 300 posts per day. However, Elon Musk later announced revised limits, increasing the cap to 10,000 posts per day for verified users, 1,000 posts per day for unverified users, and 500 posts per day for new users.

Elon Musk later humorously acknowledged the irony of users encountering view limits by tweeting, "Oh, the irony of reaching view limits while expressing discontent about view limits."

As Elon Musk established updated viewing limits, Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter, garnered attention and became a trending topic. Dorsey currently serves on the board of Bluesky Social, an upcoming social networking service positioned as a competitor to Twitter. The service is presently in beta, with user registration limited to individuals in possession of an invite code.

In response to Elon Musk's controversial decisions, numerous users took to Twitter to express their frustration. As a result, a significant number of users began exploring alternative platforms, with Bluesky being one of the options considered.

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Musk: Twitter will implement restrictions on the number of tweets users can access

Twitter has implemented a restriction on the number of tweets that certain accounts can access per day, as part of an effort to discourage "extreme levels" of data scraping and system manipulation, according to a post made by Executive Chair Elon Musk on the social media platform on Saturday.

According to Musk, verified accounts were initially restricted to accessing a maximum of 6,000 posts per day. Furthermore, unverified accounts will now be limited to 600 posts per day, while new unverified accounts will face a more stringent limit of 300 posts per day.

Musk later disclosed in a separate post that the temporary reading limitation had been raised to 10,000 posts per day for verified users, 1,000 posts per day for unverified users, and 500 posts per day for new unverified users. However, no additional details were provided regarding the adjustment.

Twitter had previously made an announcement stating that users would need to possess an account on the platform in order to view tweets. However, Elon Musk referred to this as a "temporary emergency measure" during his statement on Friday.

Musk highlighted that a considerable number of organizations were engaging in highly aggressive scraping of Twitter data, adversely affecting the user experience.

Musk had previously voiced his dissatisfaction with artificial intelligence companies such as OpenAI, the proprietor of ChatGPT, for utilizing Twitter's data to train their extensive language models.

On Saturday morning, Twitter experienced an outage that affected a significant number of users, as reported by Downdetector.com, a website that tracks service outages.

At approximately 11:17 AM ET, during the height of the outage, nearly 7,500 users on the social media platform encountered difficulties accessing the app, as reported by outage tracking data.

In an effort to attract advertisers who had departed during Musk's ownership and bolster subscription revenue, the social media platform had implemented several strategies. Among these strategies, they incorporated verification check marks as part of the Twitter Blue program.

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Elon Musk's Neuralink Set to Implant First Brain Chip Case This Year, Marking a Significant Milestone.

SAN FRANCISCO, June 16 : Renowned billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk announced during his visit to France on Friday that he anticipates the initiation of the first human trial for his brain-chip startup, Neuralink, to take place this year.

During his speech at the VivaTech event held in Paris, co-founder Elon Musk unveiled Neuralink's intention to conduct a groundbreaking webcast in collaboration with Reuters, where they plan to demonstrate the implantation of their neural interface technology in a tetraplegic or paraplegic patient. While the specific number of patients and duration of the trials were not disclosed, Musk confidently stated that the highly anticipated first case is likely to take place later this year. Notably, Musk, who also serves as the CEO of Tesla, Twitter, and SpaceX, is renowned for his innovative contributions in the fields of electric vehicles, social media, and space exploration.

Neuralink, the brain-chip startup founded by Elon Musk, achieved a significant breakthrough last month with the announcement of receiving clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its inaugural clinical trial involving human subjects. This milestone holds immense importance for the company, especially in light of ongoing investigations by U.S. authorities regarding its handling of animal experiments. While the FDA confirmed its approval for Neuralink's employment of its brain implant and surgical robot in the upcoming trials, specific details were not disclosed as per the agency's statement to Reuters. Nonetheless, this regulatory clearance represents a significant step forward for Neuralink's pioneering efforts in the field of neurotechnology.

Neuralink's path to obtaining commercial use clearance for its brain-chip device hinges on successfully demonstrating its safety in human trials. Experts, who were previously interviewed by Reuters, have suggested that even if the device proves to be safe, it could still take several years, possibly more than a decade, for the start-up to navigate the regulatory processes and secure the necessary approvals. Furthermore, Neuralink faces competition from other neurotechnology companies that have already made progress by implanting their own devices in human subjects. The race to establish the viability and marketability of neurotech solutions is intensifying, adding to the challenges faced by Neuralink in its pursuit of widespread commercial application.

Despite previous public pronouncements by Elon Musk, the CEO of Neuralink, about the imminent commencement of human trials, the company has experienced delays in meeting those timelines. Since 2019, Musk has made approximately four predictions regarding the near-term initiation of human trials for Neuralink. However, these timelines have not been realized as anticipated. It is important to note that developing groundbreaking technology, such as brain-chip implants, involves complex challenges and unforeseen obstacles, which can contribute to delays in meeting projected timelines.

According to a Reuters report, the company, established in 2016, initially applied for FDA approval in early 2022. However, the application was denied by the agency due to numerous safety concerns. These concerns included issues related to the device's lithium battery, potential migration of the implant's wires within the brain, and the difficulty of extracting the device without causing damage to brain tissue.

Neuralink is under federal scrutiny in light of recent reports by Reuters regarding its animal experiments.

According to Reuters, Neuralink employees reported that the company conducted hurried and flawed surgeries on monkeys, pigs, and sheep last year, leading to avoidable animal fatalities. It was alleged that Elon Musk exerted pressure on the staff to obtain FDA approval. Sources indicated that the purpose of these animal experiments was to gather data in support of Neuralink's application for human trials.

Employees have reported that in 2021, the company implanted devices of incorrect sizes in 25 out of 60 pigs, leading to the subsequent euthanization of all the animals. These employees stated that with better preparation, such an error could have been easily prevented.

In May, lawmakers in the United States urged regulatory authorities to initiate an investigation into Neuralink. This request came after Reuters published a report highlighting potential financial conflicts among the members of Neuralink's board responsible for overseeing animal testing. The lawmakers were concerned that these conflicts may have contributed to the mishandled and hurried experiments.

The Department of Transportation is conducting a separate investigation into allegations that Neuralink unlawfully transported hazardous pathogens on chips extracted from monkey brains without adequate containment protocols. According to an agency spokesperson, the investigation remains ongoing as of Friday.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Inspector General is currently investigating Neuralink for possible violations of animal welfare regulations. This probe specifically focuses on the USDA's oversight of Neuralink. At the time of this statement, an agency spokesperson has not yet responded to a request for comment.

the valuation of Neuralink has witnessed a significant increase in recent months. Two years ago, the start-up was valued close to $2 billion during a private fundraising round. Presently, based on privately executed stock trades, Neuralink's worth is estimated to be around $5 billion. The company's animal board, which is currently under federal scrutiny due to potential financial conflicts, involved employees who stood to benefit from the swift development of the implant. Reuters highlighted that the value of Neuralink stock held by these employees has surged by approximately 150% in just two years, based on secondary trades.

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