Twitter to stump up £592m to settle claims it misled investors about user base growth September 21, 2021 Social media giant Twitter said early this morning UK time it has agreed to pay $809.5m, about £592m, to settle a consolidated class action lawsuit alleging that the company misled investors about how much its user base was growing and how much users interacted with its platform. The San Francisco-based company said the proposed settlement, [...]
Twitter debuts ‘safety mode’ autoblocking to curb online abuse September 1, 2021 Twitter has unveiled a new feature called “Safety Mode” that will allow users to temporarily block accounts for seven days if they use harmful language or send uninvited replies and mentions. The social media giant said in a blog post today that it had begun testing the safety feature on a small feedback group of [...]
Afterpay marketing costs double in bid to secure US payments market August 25, 2021 Australian transactions firm Afterpay has watched its losses widen in the past year, as it ramped up costs in a bid to secure the US market. Marketing costs more than doubled in the year to June, as the firm attempted to capitalise on the pandemic-induced buy now, pay later (BNPL) services boom – which accompanied [...]
Twitter to introduce autoblocking after Euro 2020 racist abuse August 10, 2021 Twitter will trial automatic blocking of accounts that post harmful language after Brits used the platform to hurl racist abuse at England footballers following the Euros final. The social media giant said the UK was “by far” the biggest source of abusive tweets sent on the night of England’s defeat to Italy and in the [...]
Screenshot: Will the digital advertising boom ever end? July 30, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: You are what you tweet **Will the digital advertising boom ever end? **Esports: Britain’s next big thing? Media Moment of the Week: You are what you tweet You know the scenario: someone says something you don’t like on Twitter and you have an overwhelming urge to rise to [...]
Twitter beats revenue expectations after advertising revamp July 23, 2021 Twitter has reported better-than-expected revenue growth in its second quarter as the social media site reaped the rewards of an overhaul of its advertising service. The tech firm posted total revenue of $1.19bn in the three months to the end of June, up 74 per cent on the same period last year and ahead of [...]
British man linked to 2020 Twitter hack arrested in Spain July 21, 2021 Spanish police have arrested a 22-year-old British citizen in the southern city of Estepona for his alleged involvement in the July 2020 Twitter hack. The US requested his arrest on multiple charges connected to the cyberscam. Joseph O’Connor is also accused in a criminal complaint of computer intrusions linked with TikTok and Snapchat accounts takeovers, [...]
Screenshot: Will a streaming overhaul tidy up the UK’s messy music sector? July 16, 2021 This week: **Media Moment of the Week: ‘Oh fiddlesticks’ **Could a streaming crackdown tidy up Britain’s messy music sector? Media Moment of the Week: ‘Oh fiddlesticks’ In a situation you wouldn’t have thought possible in 2021, the BBC somehow found a man in Nottingham on Monday morning who still didn’t know the result of the [...]
Savills suspends manager over racist tweet as social media firms enter hot water July 14, 2021 Estate agent Savills has suspended a manager after he posted a racist tweet after England’s Euro final defeat on Sunday. The investigation is now being spearheaded by the Greater Manchester Police, as the manager claimed his Twitter account was hacked. People took to Twitter to share the employee’s LinkedIn page which showed where he worked [...]
Tech professionals urge social media to verify user IDs after Euro 2020 racist abuse July 13, 2021 Social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter should require users to verify their identities following the racist abuse of England players after their Euro 2020 final defeat, according to a group of tech professionals. Despite boycotts and some technical changes from big tech companies, many people still see social media as “a consequence-free playground [...]