WASHINGTON: The White House on Friday joined Bluesky, the social media platform of choice of many in the left-leaning online world.
In its inaugural post, the White House account offered a sizzle reel of the administration’s memes, trolls and messages from President Donald Trump’s nine months since returning to office. The post appeared aimed at tweaking liberals who aren’t fans of the Republican president.
The first post included mentions of the administration’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico, a doctored image of Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries adorned in a sombrero with a faux mustache, and stream of photos and video from other big moments in the early going of Trump’s second term.
“What’s up, Bluesky?” the White House said in a message accompanying the video. ”We thought you might’ve missed some of our greatest hits, so we put this together for you. Can’t wait to spend more quality time together!”
Disgruntled X users began flocking to Bluesky after billionaire Elon Musk took over Twitter (now known as X) in 2022, and the platform reported a surge in new users late last year.
It remains small compared to more established online spaces such as X, but it has emerged as an alternative for those looking for a different mood.
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security also launched Bluesky accounts Friday.
Vice President JD Vance joined Bluesky in June.
Trump’s social media platform of choice is Truth Social. Trump is the biggest shareholder in Trump Media & Technology Group, the company that owns Truth Social.
White House joins Bluesky and immediately trolls Trump opponents
https://arab.news/62e5p
White House joins Bluesky and immediately trolls Trump opponents
- Bluesky is the social media platform of choice of many in the left-leaning online world
- Disgruntled X users began flocking to Bluesky after billionaire Elon Musk took over Twitter (now known as X) in 2022
Apple, Google offer app store changes under new UK rules
LONDON: Apple and Google have pledged changes to ensure fairness in their app stores, the UK competition watchdog said Tuesday, describing it as “first steps” under its tougher regulation of technology giants.
The Competition and Markets Authority placed the two companies under “strategic market status” last year, giving it powers to impose stricter rules on their mobile platforms.
Apple and Google have submitted packages of commitments to improve fairness and transparency in their app stores, which the CMA is now consulting market participants on.
The proposals cover data collection, how apps are reviewed and ranked and improved access to their mobile operating systems.
They aim to prevent Apple and Google from giving priority to their own apps and to ensure businesses receive fairer terms for delivering apps to customers, including better access to tools to compete with services like the Apple digital wallet.
“These are important first steps while we continue to work on a broad range of additional measures to improve Apple and Google’s app store services in the UK,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.
The commitments mark the first changes proposed by US tech giants in response to the UK’s digital markets regulation, which came into force last year.
The UK framework is similar to a tech competition law from the European Union, the Digital Markets Act, which carries the potential for hefty financial penalties.
“The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The CMA in October found that Apple and Google held an “effective duopoly,” with around 90 to 100 percent of UK mobile services running on their platforms.
A Google spokesperson said existing practices in its Play online store are “fair, objective and transparent.”
“We welcome the opportunity to resolve the CMA’s concerns collaboratively,” they added.
The changes are set to take effect in April, subject to the outcome of a market consultation.
