Elon Musk is warning Twitter employees to brace for “difficult times ahead” that might end with the collapse of the social media platform if they can't find new ways of making money.
Workers who survived last week's mass layoffs are facing harsher work conditions and growing uncertainty about their ability to keep Twitter running safely as it continues to lose high-level leaders responsible for data privacy, cybersecurity and complying with regulations.
Musk’s first companywide message to employees came by email late Wednesday night and ordered them to stop working from home and show up in the office Thursday morning. He followed that with his first “all-hands" meeting Thursday answering workers' concerns. Before that, many were relying on the billionaire Tesla CEO's public tweets for clues about Twitter's future.
“Sorry that this is my first email to the whole company, but there is no way to sugarcoat the message," wrote Musk, before he described a dire economic climate for businesses like Twitter that rely almost entirely on advertising to make money.
“Without significant subscription revenue, there is a good chance Twitter will not survive the upcoming economic downturn,” Musk said. “We need roughly half of our revenue to be subscription.”
At the staff meeting Thursday afternoon, Musk said some “exceptional” employees could seek an exemption from his return-to-work order but that others who didn’t like it could quit, according to an employee at the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity out of a concern for job security.
The employee also said Musk appeared to downplay employee concerns about how a pared-back Twitter workforce was handling its obligations to maintain privacy and data security standards, saying as CEO of Tesla he knew how that worked.
Musk’s memo and staff meeting echoed a livestreamed conversation trying to assuage major advertisers Wednesday, his most expansive public comments about Twitter’s direction since he closed a $44 billion deal to buy the social media platform late last month and dismissed its top executives. A number of well-known brands have paused advertising on Twitter as they wait to see how Musk's proposals to relax content rules against hate and misinformation affect the tenor of the platform.
Musk told employees the “priority over the past 10 days" was to develop and launch Twitter's new subscription service for $7.99 a month that includes a blue check mark next to the name of paid members — the mark was previously only for verified accounts. Musk's project has had a rocky rollout with an onslaught of newly bought fake accounts this week impersonating high-profile figures such as basketball star LeBron James, former U.S. President George W. Bush and the drug company Eli Lilly to post false information or offensive jokes.
In a second email to employees, Musk said the “absolute top priority" over the coming days is to suspend “bots/trolls/spam” exploiting the verified accounts. But Twitter now employs far fewer people to help him do that.
An executive last week said Twitter was cutting roughly 50% of its workforce, which numbered 7,500 earlier this year.
Musk had previously expressed distaste for Twitter's pandemic-era remote work policies that enabled team leaders to decide if employees had to show up in the office.
Musk told employees in the email that “remote work is no longer allowed" and the road ahead is “arduous and will require intense work to succeed" and they will need to be in the office at least 40 hours per week. He said he would personally review any request for an exception.
Twitter hasn’t disclosed the total number of layoffs across its global workforce but told local and state officials in the US that it was cutting 784 workers at its San Francisco headquarters, about 200 elsewhere in California, more than 400 in New York City, more than 200 in Seattle and about 80 in Atlanta.
The exodus at Twitter is ongoing, including the company's chief privacy officer, Damien Kieran, and chief information security officer Lea Kissner, who tweeted Thursday that “I’ve made the hard decision to leave Twitter.”
Cybersecurity expert Alex Stamos, a former Facebook security chief, tweeted Thursday that there is a “serious risk of a breach with drastically reduced staff” that could also put Twitter at odds with a 2011 order from the Federal Trade Commission that required it to address serious data security lapses.
“Twitter made huge strides towards a more rational internal security model and backsliding will put them in trouble with the FTC” and other regulators in the US and Europe, Stamos said.
The FTC said in a statement Thursday that it is “tracking recent developments at Twitter with deep concern."
“No CEO or company is above the law, and companies must follow our consent decrees," said the agency's statement. “Our revised consent order gives us new tools to ensure compliance, and we are prepared to use them.”
The FTC would not say whether it was investigating Twitter for potential violations. If it were, it is empowered to demand documents and depose employees.
Twitter paid a $150 million penalty in May for violating the 2011 consent order and its updated version established new procedures requiring the company to implement an enhanced privacy protection program as well as beefing up info security.
Those new procedures include an exhaustive list of disclosures Twitter must make to the FTC when introducing new products and services — particularly when they affect personal data collected on users.
Musk is, of course, fundamentally overhauling platform offerings, and it's not known if he is telling the FTC about it. Twitter, which gutted its communications department, didn't respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Musk has a history of tangling with regulators. “I do not respect the SEC,” Musk declared in a 2018 tweet.
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently examined for possible tardiness his disclosures to the agency of his purchases of Twitter stock to amass a major stake. In 2018, Musk and Tesla each agreed to pay $20 million in fines over Musk’s allegedly misleading tweets saying he’d secured the funding to take the electric car maker private for $420 a share. Musk has fought the SEC in court over compliance with the agreement.
The consequences for not meeting FTC's requirements can be severe — such as when Facebook had to pay $5 billion for privacy violations.
“If Twitter so much as sneezes, it has to do a privacy review beforehand,” tweeted Riana Pfefferkorn, a Stanford University researcher who said she previously provided Twitter outside legal counsel. “There are periodic outside audits, and the FTC can monitor compliance.”
Twitter was fined in May for the alleged commercial exploit of customers data — phone numbers and email addresses — that it had claimed it needed for security purposes, such as enabling multi-factor authentication.
Twitter survival at stake, Elon Musk warns as remote work ends
https://arab.news/bera3
Twitter survival at stake, Elon Musk warns as remote work ends
- A number of well-known brands have paused advertising on Twitter as they wait to see how Musk's proposals to relax content rules against hate and misinformation affect the tenor of the platform
Jordan media authority files complaint against Al-Yarmouk channel for ‘broadcasting without license’
Jordan media authority files complaint against Al-Yarmouk channel for ‘broadcasting without license’
- Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated network closed in past over licensing
- Al-Yarmouk TV had claimed initial approval, waiting for final decision
LONDON: Jordan’s media authority has filed a complaint against Al-Yarmouk Satellite Channel, accusing it of breaching broadcasting regulations, the Jordan News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated network was closed down and referred to public prosecutors on charges of unauthorized activity and broadcasting from Jordan without obtaining government approval.
“The Jordan Media Commission (JMC) had filed several complaints in the past in this regard, a number of which included a general pardon law, while the latest decision was issued by the highest judicial body in the Kingdom (Court of Cassation) and by written order,” the JMC’s Director-General Bashir Momani said in a statement.
Sources close to the channel’s staff reported that security agencies raided the offices, seizing broadcasting equipment and preventing employees from entering. The channel employs 25 people.
Momani explained that the decision was taken in accordance with the country’s Audiovisual Media Law, adding that the broadcasting equipment confiscated would be used as evidence in the case.
This is not the first time Jordan’s authorities have closed the channel for broadcasting without a permit.
Launched in 2013, the channel faced a similar shutdown two years later. Al-Yarmouk then worked with local companies and studios to produce and record its programs before transmitting them via satellite.
In 2016, the Jordan Visual and Audio Authority issued a circular to production and distribution companies in the country, prohibiting “unlicensed” channels from transmitting via third parties without legal approval.
At that time, the commission did not clarify the reasons for not licensing the channel but denied that the decision was politically motivated.
The channel’s then-director, Khader Al-Mashaykh, later claimed that the network received initial approval but that the application was stalled while waiting for approval from Jordan’s prime minister.
He added that authorities informed him Al-Yarmouk TV could continue operations while awaiting a final response.
Momani suggested that the decision was not specifically targeted at the channel, emphasizing that the JMC would apply the law to any parties found in violation.
Undercover operation nets arrests as US prosecutor blames Meta for online predators
- New Mexico's attorney general suggested that Meta executives were putting company profits above the interests of parents and children
- Lawsuit says uncovered internal documents show Meta employees estimating about 100,000 children every day are subjected to sexual harassment on the company platforms
ALBUQUERQUE, US: New Mexico state’s top prosecutor announced charges Wednesday against three men who are accused of using Meta’s social media platforms to target and solicit sex with underage children.
The arrests are the result of a monthslong undercover operation in which the suspects connected with decoy accounts that were set up by the state Department of Justice. The investigation began in December around the time the state filed a civil lawsuit against the social media giant, claiming Meta was failing to take basic precautionary measures to ensure children were safe on its platforms.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said during a news conference Wednesday that the suspects communicated and exchanged explicit sexual content through Facebook’s messenger app and were clear in expressing a sexual interest in children.
“It’s extraordinarily concerning to us just how easily these individuals found the undercover personas that were created,” Torrez said. “And it is, frankly, I think a wakeup call for all of us to understand just how serious these kinds of threats are.”
He placed blame on Meta executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and suggested that the company was putting profits above the interests of parents and children.
“For those of us who are engaged in this work, we are simply tired of the rhetoric,” he said. “We are tired of the assurances that have been given to members of our communities, to members of Congress, to policymakers that all reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that this type of behavior doesn’t occur.”
Meta disputed the allegations and reiterated Wednesday that it uses technology to prevent suspicious adults from finding or interacting with children and teens on its apps and that it works with law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting offenders.
The company also said it has hired child safety experts, reports content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and shares information and tools with others to help root out predators.
“This is an ongoing fight, where determined criminals evolve their tactics across platforms to try and evade protections,” Meta said in an emailed statement.
While the state attorney general’s office will continue working to identify predators who are targeting children, Torrez said it’s too early to say whether that work will have a bearing on the civil litigation.
As part of that lawsuit, New Mexico prosecutors say they have uncovered internal documents in which Meta employees estimate about 100,000 children every day are subjected to sexual harassment on the company’s platforms.
The three defendants in the criminal case were identified as Fernando Clyde, Marlon Kellywood and Christopher Reynolds. Prosecutors are seeking to detain them pending trial on charges that include child solicitation by an electronic communication device.
Hearings have yet to be scheduled, and court records did not list attorneys who could speak on behalf of Clyde and Kellywood. A message was left with the public defender’s office, which is representing Reynolds.
SRMG launches the second edition of the Saudi Young Lions Competition
- Registration is open until May 13
- Winners will compete in the prestigious Global Young Lions competition in France in June
RIYADH: The Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG), which publishes Arab News, today launched the second edition of the Saudi Young Lions design competition.
The competition provides young and up-and-coming creators from Saudi Arabia a platform to showcase their creativity and ingenuity. It also represents a key aspect of SRMG’s transformation and growth strategy to champion the next generation of local creators and innovators.
Registration for the Saudi Young Lions competition is now open. To participate, graphic designers, illustrators and creatives aged 30 or under and currently working in Saudi Arabia’s marketing and advertising industry must register by 13 May 2024 in a team of two. The brief will be live on 16 May 2024 and registered participants will be given 48 hours to answer a creative brief. Entrants will be judged by a jury of leaders from renowned global advertising agencies in the region. Registration can be done via this website: www.srmg.com/young-lions
The winners of the Saudi Young Lions will advance to compete in the prestigious Global Young Lions competition against top creative teams from around the world in Cannes, France in June. This will also provide the winning team an opportunity to network with the brightest minds in the global media industry, learn from the leading global creative directors, and attend inspiring talks and workshops.
This announcement builds on SRMG’s partnership with the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. In 2023, SRMG became the official representative of Cannes Lions in Saudi Arabia. As part of this partnership, SRMG launched the first Saudi Young Lions competition and facilitated Saudi representation at the Cannes’ Creative Academy.
TikTok, ByteDance sue to block US law seeking sale or ban of app
- The Chinese platform argues the law violates US Constitution
- The lawsuit is TikTok’s latest move to stay ahead of efforts to shut it down, scheduled for Jan. 2025
WASHINGTON: TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance sued in US federal court on Tuesday seeking to block a law signed by President Joe Biden that would force the divestiture of the short video app used by 170 million Americans or ban it.
The companies filed their lawsuit in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, arguing that the law violates the US Constitution on a number of grounds including running afoul of First Amendment free speech protections. The law, signed by Biden on April 24, gives ByteDance until Jan. 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban.
“For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban,” the companies said in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit said the divestiture “is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally. ... There is no question: the Act (law) will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere.”
The White House has said it wants to see Chinese-based ownership ended on national security grounds but not a ban on TikTok. The White House and Justice Department declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is the latest move by TikTok to keep ahead of efforts to shut it down in the United States as companies such as Snap and Meta look to capitalize on TikTok’s political uncertainty to take away advertising dollars from their rival.
Driven by worries among US lawmakers that China could access data on Americans or spy on them with the app, the measure was passed overwhelmingly in Congress just weeks after being introduced. TikTok has denied that it has or ever would share US user data, accusing American lawmakers in the lawsuit of advancing “speculative” concerns.
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, top Democrat on a House committee on China, said the legislation is “the only way to address the national security threat posed by ByteDance’s ownership of apps like TikTok.”
“Instead of continuing its deceptive tactics, it’s time for ByteDance to start the divestment process,” he said.
The law prohibits app stores like Apple and Alphabet’s Google from offering TikTok and bars Internet hosting services from supporting TikTok unless ByteDance divests TikTok by Jan. 19.
The suit said the Chinese government “has made clear that it would not permit a divestment of the recommendation engine that is a key to the success of TikTok in the United States.” The companies asked the D.C. Circuit to block US Attorney General Merrick Garland from enforcing the law and says “prospective injunctive relief” is warranted.
According to the suit, 58 percent of ByteDance is owned by global institutional investors including BlackRock, General Atlantic and Susquehanna International Group, 21 percent owned by the company’s Chinese founder and 21 percent owned by employees — including about 7,000 Americans.
TENSIONS OVER INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY
The four-year battle over TikTok is a significant front in the ongoing conflict over the Internet and technology between the United States and China. In April, Apple said China had ordered it to remove Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China over Chinese national security concerns.
TikTok has spent $2 billion to implement measures to protect the data of US users and made additional commitments in a 90-page draft National Security Agreement developed through negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), according to the lawsuit.
That pact included TikTok agreeing to a “shut-down option” that would give the US government the authority to suspend TikTok in the United States if it violates some obligations, according to the suit.
In August 2022, according to the lawsuit, CFIUS stopped engaging in meaningful discussions about the agreement, and in March 2023 CFIUS “insisted that ByteDance would be required to divest the US TikTok business.” CFIUS is an interagency committee, chaired by the US Treasury Department, that reviews foreign investments in American businesses and real estate that implicate national security concerns.
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump was blocked by the courts in his bid to ban TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat, a unit of Tencent, in the United States. Trump, the Republican candidate challenging the Democrat Biden in the Nov. 5 US election, has since reversed course, saying he does not support a ban but that security concerns need to be addressed.
Biden could extend the Jan. 19 deadline by three months if he determines ByteDance is making progress. The suit said the fact that Biden’s presidential campaign continues to use TikTok “undermines the claim that the platform poses an actual threat to Americans.” Trump’s campaign does not use TikTok.
Many experts have questioned whether any potential buyer possesses the financial resources to buy TikTok and if China and US government agencies would approve a sale.
To move the TikTok source code to the United States “would take years for an entirely new set of engineers to gain sufficient familiarity,” according to the lawsuit.
Iran sentences man to death for posts during 2022 protests
- Mahmoud Mehrabi was convicted of inciting killings, insulting religious sanctities
TEHRAN: An Iranian court has sentenced a man to death over content he posted online during 2022 protests over the death in custody of an Iranian-Kurdish woman, the judiciary said Tuesday.
Iran was gripped by months-long protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, after she was arrested for an alleged breach of the strict dress code for women.
The judiciary’s Mizan Online website said Mahmoud Mehrabi was found guilty of posting content that included guidance on how “to use homemade weapons and called for the destruction of public property.”
He was convicted of “inciting people to commit killings and insulting religious sanctities,” it added.
Lawyer Babak Farsani said Mehrabi was found guilty of the capital offense of “corruption on earth.” He can appeal against the sentence before the Supreme Court.
The months-long protests sparked by Amini’s death saw hundreds of people killed in street clashes, including dozens of security personnel.
Thousands were arrested as authorities moved to quell what they branded foreign-instigated “riots.”
Last month, an Iranian court sentenced popular rapper Toomaj Salehi to death for supporting the demonstrations.
Nine men have been executed in protest-related cases involving killings and other violence against security forces.
Amnesty International says Iran executed 853 people in 2023, the highest total since 2015.
