Category Archives: X

Elon Musk’s X Loses Lawsuit Against Bright Data Over Scraping

X, ,

A federal judge in California dismissed a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s X against Israel’s Bright Data, in a case that involved the scraping of public online data and its appropriate uses, CNBC reported.

X, formerly Twitter, sued Bright Data, alleging the company “scrapes data from X” and sells it “using elaborate technical measures to evade X Corp.’s anti-scraping technology.” X also claimed the company violated its terms of service and copyright.

In dismissing the complaint, Judge William Alsup wrote, “X Corp. wants it both ways: to keep its safe harbors yet exercise a copyright owner’s right to exclude, wresting fees from those who wish to extract and copy X users’ content.”

Giving social networks complete control over the collection and use of public data “risks the possible creation of information monopolies that would disserve the public interest,” the judge wrote. He added that X was not “looking to protect X users’ privacy,” and was “happy to allow the extraction and copying of X users’ so long as it gets paid.”

Reuters reported U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco ruled on Thursday that X, formerly Twitter, failed to plausibly allege that Bright Data Ltd had violated its user agreement by allowing the scraping and evading X’s own anti-scraping technology.

Alsup said using scraping tools is not inherently fraudulent, and giving social media companies free rein to decide how public data are used “risks the possible creation of information monopolies that would disserve the public interest. 

The judge also said X was not entitled to “de facto copyright ownership” in copyrighted content that X’s user made available to the public.

Or Lenchner, Bright Data’s chief executive, said in a statement: “Bright Data’s victory over X makes it clear that the world of public information on the web belongs to all of us, and any attempt to deny the public access will fail.”

ArsTechnica reported a US district judge William Alsup has dismissed Elon Musk’s X Corp’s lawsuit against Bright Data, a data-scraping company accused of improperly accessing X (formerly Twitter) systems and selling data.

According to Alsup, X failed to state a claim while arguing that companies like Bright Data should have to pay X to access public data posted by X users.

“To the extent the claims are based on access to systems, they fail because X Corp. has alleged no more than threadbare recitals,” parroting laws and finding in other cases without providing any evidence, Alsup wrote. “To the extent the claims are based on scraping and selling of data, they fail because they are preempted by federal law,” specifically standing as an “obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of” the Copyright Act.

“X Corp. wants it both ways: to keep its safe harbors yet exercise a copyright owner’s right to exclude, wresting fees from those who wish to extract and copy X user’s content,” Alsup said.

In my opinion, it appears that Elon Musk wants to prevent other companies from scraping X’s user data, but also wants to be paid for that data. I see why the judge dismissed Mr. Musk’s complaint.

Blue Check Marks Reappear On Some Large X Accounts

X,

Almost a year since blue check marks disappeared from some large, influential accounts on X (formerly Twitter), they have started to return, NBC News reported. On Wednesday, some individuals with large followings started receiving notifications that they had received complementary premium features, including the return of the iconic blue check mark to their accounts.

In late March, platform owner Elon Musk posted that accounts with more than 2,500 verified subscriber followers would get X Premium features for free, and accounts with more than 5,000 verified subscriber followers will get X Premium+ features. One of those features is the blue check mark icon that previously served as an indicator of real accounts belonging to celebrities, journalists, influencers and other public figures.

In April 2023, as part of Musk’s takeover of the company, check marks were pulled from “legacy” verified accounts — which had been verified through a tightly controlled process meant to designate accounts as “notable.” Under Musk, verification became a paid feature for members of X Premium, in which virtually anyone could enroll. Politicians were given gray check marks and organizations could pay for gold check marks. At the same time, Musk said he gifted some premium features to some influential accounts, like author Stephen King, who posted that he had received the blue check against his will.

The Verge reported just as Elon Musk said, X is doling out the free Premium and Premium Plus memberships to accounts with a high number of verified followers. 

Multiple X users on Wednesday reported seeing the familiar blue “Verified” checkmark next to their handles despite not paying for either paid X subscription tier. Musk last week announced that X accounts with over 2,500 “verified subscriber followers” would receive a free Premium membership; while accounts with over 5,000 would receive a free Premium Plus membership.

Now, it appears that many influential X accounts with already large followings in the tens of thousands (which may translate to verified followings that cross the benchmark) are once again checkmarked, or will be, whether they like it or not.

TechCrunch reported X is giving free blue checks to users who have more than 2,500 “verified” followers, which are people who subscribe to X Premium. Popular posters will get a blue check, but not everyone is happy about it: People are now frantically posting to make it clear that they didn’t buy a blue check, but rather the blue check was foisted upon them.

According to TechCrunch, back in the days of yore, Twitter’s blue check indicated that a user was influential in some way. Back then, blue checks actually helped us determine public figures are who they say they are. So if someone was popular on Twitter, perhaps because they’re a celebrity, an influencer or a journalist, they would get a blue check, which could also help reduce the spread of misinformation.

In my opinion, it appears that some large X/Twitter accounts, who have received blue checkmarks, are not entirely thrilled about having it. That said, it might have at least one use – making it clear that the checkmark prevents other people from pretending to be a celebrity.

Elon Musk Says xAI Will Open Source Grok This Week

X, ,

Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI will open source Grok, its chatbot rivaling ChatGPT, this week, the entrepreneur said, days after suing OpenAI and complaining that the Microsoft-backed startup had deviated from its open source roots, TechCrunch reported.

xAI released Grok last year, arming it with features including access to “real-time” information and views undeterred by “politically correct” norms. The service is available to customers paying for X’s $16 monthly subscription.

Musk, who didn’t elaborate on what aspects of Grok he planned to open source, helped co-found OpenAI with Sam Altman nearly a decade ago as a counterweight to Google’s dominance in artificial intelligence. But OpenAI, which was required to make it’s technology “freely available” to the public, has become closed-source and shifted focus to maximizing profits for Microsoft, Musk alleged in the lawsuit filed last month.

According to Elon Musk, xAI will open source its Grok chatbot, Engadget reported. The founder of the company, whose AI assistant is available to Premium+ subscribers on X, hasn’t revealed any other details about the decision, which is slated to take effect this week.

It’s hardly the first time a Musk company has opened up access to its knowhow. Tesla open sourced its patents a decade a go, and now practically ever major car manufacturer has adopted its electric vehicle charging connector. X, meanwhile, published the code that powers its “For You” algorithmic feed last year, though we didn’t learn much from it.

Engadget also reported that The Wall Street Journal points out, Musk may be hoping that, by letting third-party developers and researchers dig into Grok’s code, there could be an increased uptake of the model. The developer community may also provide feedback that could be used to improve Grok.

After suing OpenAI this month, alleging the company has become too closed, Elon Musk will release his “truth-seeking” answer to ChatGPT, the chatbot Grok, for anyone to download and use,WIRED reported.

“This week @xAI will open source Grok,” Musk wrote on his social media platform, X today. That suggests his AI company, xAI will release the full code of Grok and allow anyone to use or alter it. By contrast, OpenAI makes a version of ChatGPT and the language model behind it is available to use for free but keeps its code private.

Musk has previously said little about the business model for Grok or xAI, and the chatbot was made available only to Premium subscribers to X. Having accused his OpenAI cofounders of reneging on a promise to give away the company’s artificial intelligence earlier this month, Musk may have felt he had to open source his own chatbot to show that he is committed to that vision.

It seems to me that Elon Musk is very interested in allowing Grok to become an open source application. Previously, Grok was available only to those who were paying a subscription fee on X. I cannot help but wonder if Mr. Musk was always intending to allow more people to use Grok, and whether or not that would come with a fee. 

Elon Musk’s X Is Launching A YouTube Clone For Smart TVs

X,

In a bid to compete with YouTube and recast itself as a video platform, Elon Musk’s X is launching a television app for Amazon and Samsung smart TV’s, a source at the company told Fortune. The company plans to launch the app next week, and a source says it looks “identical” to YouTube’s TV app.

Musk’s goal is to encourage users to watch “long videos on a bigger screen,” part of a plan first teased in July designed to make X more attractive to online influencers and advertisers.

The launch of X’s TV app comes as the platform, formerly known as Twitter, and mostly popular as a service for posting short text-based messages, seeks to play a larger role in the crowded streaming video market. In January, X declared that it was “now a video-first platform,” touting a new feature reminiscent of TikTok’s immersive full-screen infinite scroll experience.

Musk’s vision for streaming video seems to be focused around media celebrities, online influencers, and online video game streaming. The social media platform recently inked a deal with former CNN star anchor Don Lemon for a new show exclusively on X, and former Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson often publishes long-form video content on X, most notably a recent interview with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The billionaire owner of X has also urged content creators to migrate their entire video content to X, asserting that they stand to benefit from enhanced ad revenue streams. Mr. Beast, a prominent YouTuber posting 243 million subscribers, put X to the test by uploading a full-length video and publicly disclosing his earnings.

PCmag wrote that Elon Musk is reportedly looking to get into the streaming business with a television app for Amazon and Samsung smart TVs.

A January blog post from the X Business team claimed that the service is “now a video-first platform.” The company recently enabled long-form video uploads, and X says people watch video in eight out of 10 user sessions on the site. In December 2023 alone, users watched the equivalent of 130 years’ worth of videos that clocked in at 30 minutes or longer.

X, previously known as Twitter, has long dabbled in exclusive videos, mostly in support of live-streaming events. In 2016, shortly after it signed on to stream 10 NFL games, Twitter launched live-streaming apps for Apple TV, Xbox One, and Amazon Fire TV.

For those with a smaller presence on social media, X recently added a video-feed option to its Clubhouse clone Spaces, so a host can appear on video while chatting live with other people, similar to Twitch.

TalkAndroid wrote: If you’re active on social media, you either hate or love the takeover of Twitter by notorious billionaire Elon Musk. It didn’t take long for the platform to be rebranded as “X” and to have a number of major changes made to the social media platform’s DNA.

Besides mixing things up, Elon made it clear his desire to grow X beyond what Twitter used to be — the addition of video and voice calls recently shows this off. But now, it looks like an app we thought would be restricted to our smartphones and computers is about to find its way to smart televisions. That was not on my 2024 tech bingo card.

In my opinion, it sounds like Elon Musk has been putting the pieces together to make X into an “everything app”. The current new thing appears to be allowing users to upload their videos to the platform.

X Adds Live Video To Spaces Instead Of Bringing Back Periscope

X,

Spaces, the live audio feature for X, is now letting hosts turn on their video during chat sessions. The platform formerly known as Twitter announced the news on Wednesday as owner/CTO Elon Musk reposted a walkthrough from a user named “Dogedesigner”, The Verge reported.

Spaces users will notice a new option to “enable video” when they first create a new Spaces session. Hosts can opt for either their phone’s front or back-facing cameras as well as either a landscape or vertical view of their video feed.

The Video Spaces are available on the iOS version of the X app, but we haven’t seen them available on Android or the web yet. Multiple users reported significant lag while trying out the feature so far.

X bringing video to the formerly audio-only Spaces may sound like it’s bringing back Periscope, that’s technically not the case. X already has a live broadcast feature, which lets uses stream video that appears both on their profiles and the timelines of their followers. Periscope (before its untimely demise) did have a feature where hosts could invite other guests to participate in live broadcasts.

Engadget reported X’s audio chat rooms called Spaces can now broadcast live video, but only for those hosting the session. As The Verge reported, a Dogecoin designer posted an official walkthrough of the feature on the platform formerly known as Twitter. 

According to Engadget, hosts will now be able to choose whether to enable video and switch on their cameras when they create a Space. They can then broadcast on their cameras with either front or rear cameras and in vertical or landscape orientation. We’re still not seeing the option to enable video in Spaces on Android, but it’s reportedly already available for iOS devices.

Based on follow-up posts by some users, X has to fix a few bugs and other issues for the feature to work smoothly. Enabling video apparently introduces quite a lengthy lag into chat sessions, and broadcasting in landscape makes it impossible to manage a Space, since the video takes up the screen. Also, participants on desktop don’t have the ability to see videos yet. 

Mobile users that do see videos are shown an interface that prominently displays the host’s feed next to participants’ user icons. The Verge says videos only live inside the chat sessions as they happen in real time and that users will have to join them to see them, which means recorded Spaces are still audio only at the moment.

Mashable reported that that X has added live video to Spaces, giving users the ability to not only broadcast their voice but their faces, too.

The platform formerly known as Twitter has made video available for Spaces, the formerly audio-only chat room feature. It functions in addition to X’s existing live video broadcast feature launched in August of last year, and seems to be a more Twitch-like set-up with people able to join the session.

Video Spaces could appeal to some users, considering the platform’s algorithm has reportedly supported tweets with links to Spaces in the past.

Personally, I’m not interested in using X/Twitter’s Video Spaces. Right now, the feature seems kind of unfinished and somewhat unreliable (especially for those on Android.)

X Adds Support For Passkeys On iOS After Removing SMS 2FA Support Last Year

X,

X, formerly known as Twitter, today announced support for passkeys, a new and more secure login method than traditional passwords, which will become an option for U.S. users on iOS devices. The technology has been adopted by a number of apps as of late, including PayPal, TikTok, WhatsApp, and others, TechCrunch reported.

Initiated by Google, Apple, Microsoft, and the FIDO Alliance, alongside the World Wide Web Consortium, passkey technology aims to make password less logins available across different devices, operating systems, and web browsers. The feature arrived on iOS devices in September 2022, and Google accounts last May, according to TechCrunch.

Unlike logins which rely on a username and password combination, passkeys use a biometric authentication like Face ID or Touch ID, a PIN or a physical security authentication key to validate login attempts. This process combines the benefits of two-factor authentication (2FA) into a single step, to make the login process more seamless while also being more secure.

X, formerly Twitter, posted information about How to use passkeys:

Passkey is a feature that allows a secure and convenient alternative to passwords, designed to streamline sign-ins across multiple devices. Passkeys provide enhanced security compared to traditional passwords since they are individually generated by your device for each account, making them less susceptible to phishing attacks and unauthorized access.

Passkey is currently only available to use when logging in on iOS.

Why should I use a passkey?

We encourage users to enroll in passkey for the following benefits:

* Seamless log in experience: Passkeys make signing easy and convenient. Once you are set up, you can use your passkey to log in to your account across different devices without having to remember or reset a forgotten password.

* Advanced security: Passkeys provide a stronger level of security for your account. Since they are uniquely generated by your device, they are less vulnerable to security threats as fraudulent, deceptive, or unauthorized attacks.

How does passkey work?

Passkeys are constructed using public key cryptography from the WebAuthentication (or “WebAuthn”) standard. When you register an account, your device generates a unique key pair – one public and one private — for each account. The public key is shared and stored on X, while the private key remains on your device. Your passkey is never shared with X to ensure maximum security, and further reducing the likelihood of unauthorized account access.

Is a passkey mandatory for login?

Passkeys are highly encouraged to enhance your account’s security, but it is not required for login.

Engadget reported that X says it won’t require users to sign up for passkeys, but it’s not a bad idea to do so if you find other multi-factor authentication methods (such as inputting a code from an authenticator app cumbersome). Passkeys also effectively nullify X’s SMS-based two-factor authentication method, which the company has paywalled behind X Premium.

In my opinion, it might not be a bad idea to consider whether or not you want to use a passkey on your X account(s). Personally, Im not sure what I think about it.

X Is Rolling Out Audio And Video Calls To Android

X,

Elon Musk’s own social network X is rolling out the ability to make audio and video calls from the app to its Android client, TechCrunch reported.

One of the engineers working on the project posted about the feature release and said it would be available to Android users after an app update.

According to TechCrunch, in August 2023, CEO Linda Yaccarino first talked about introducing video calls to the platform and eventually rolled it out to iOS users in October.

Notably, any user can receive a call but only paid users can place a call. It’s one of the long list of things only paid users can do on X. However, X removed the ability for premium users to set an NFT as a profile picture earlier in the month.

X, formerly known as Twitter, provided information about Audio and Video calls:

We’re releasing a new way of communicating on X, Audio and Video calling. Audio and Video calling is now available on iOS and Android.

The basics

* Premium subscribers have the ability to make audio and video calls.
* All accounts are able to receive calls.
* You’re able to control who can call you from the Direct Messages Settings.
* By default you’re able to receive calls from accounts you follow or have in your address book (if you’ve previously given us access to your address book).
* To be able to call another user, they must have sent you a direct message at least once before.
On Android, you need to have push notifications enabled to get notified when you get a call.

To make an audio or video call

* Tap the envelope icon. You’ll be directed to your messages.
* Tap an existing DM conversation or start a new conversation.
* Tap on the phone icon, from there you can;
* Tap Audio call to start an audio call
* Tap Video to start a video call
* The account that you call will receive a notification that you’re calling them and if they don’t pick up they’ll get a notification that they missed a call.

After that, there are descriptions of how to manage an audio call or a video call. X users are able to control who can call them. There is the option of being able to choose who is able to call you. You can receive calls from: people in your address book, people you know, or verified users.

Mashable reported that in order to call someone on X/Twitter, you must be a Premium users (paying $8 per month) – or Premium+, which will set users back $16 per month – if they’d like to make a call. However, any user can receive audio and video calls on X. Only the user placing the call has to pay.

Personally, I’m not a fan of this at all. There is ample room for Premium or Premium+ users to use their call to harass people or to send threatening audio or video messages. I also don’t like the idea of giving X/Twitter my voice.