Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has sparked shock and outrage by tweeting a video showing one man urinating on another during his country's massive annual street carnival.

"What is a golden shower?" Bolsonaro tweeted on Wednesday, a day after posting the video in which a barely dressed party-goer writhes atop a bus shelter, plays with his behind, and then bends over before another man urinates on his head.

"I do not feel comfortable showing this, but ... this is what many of the street parties in Brazil's carnival have turned into," Bolsonaro tweeted.

A former army captain, Bolsonaro came to power in 2018 at the head of a right-wing government after years of stirring controversy with homophobic, misogynistic and racist comments.

It remains to be seen whether he will face consequences over the posts. Leftist lawmaker Paulo Teixeira said on Twitter he would ask prosecutors to investigate whether Bolsonaro had broken privacy laws.

Twitter said in a statement that any violations of its content rules were "subject to appropriate measures" but declined to say whether the post constituted a violation.

Critics said Bolsonaro's tweets showed he was more focused on riling his progressive critics than building consensus in Congress for necessary reforms, such as an overhaul of the country's budget-busting pension system.

The president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Local media said the video was filmed at a street party, or bloco, in Sao Paulo.

Brazil's most famous carnival celebrations take place in Rio de Janeiro, where Bolsonaro was a federal congressman for nearly three decades.

This year's carnival has become increasingly politicized in the wake of Bolsonaro's election and the 2018 murder of Rio councilwoman Marielle Franco, a gay and black rights activist whose 2018 murder remains unsolved.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has sparked shock and outrage by tweeting a video showing one man urinating on another during his country's massive annual street carnival.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has sparked shock and outrage by tweeting a video showing one man urinating on another during his country's massive annual street carnival. "What is a golden shower?" Bolsonaro tweeted on Wednesday, a day after posting the video in which a barely dressed party-goer writhes atop a bus shelter, plays with his behind, and then bends over before another man urinates on his head. "I do not feel comfortable showing this, but ... this is what many of the street parties in Brazil's carnival have turned into," Bolsonaro tweeted. A former army captain, Bolsonaro came to power in 2018 at the head of a right-wing government after years of stirring controversy with homophobic, misogynistic and racist comments. It remains to be seen whether he will face consequences over the posts. Leftist lawmaker Paulo Teixeira said on Twitter he would ask prosecutors to investigate whether Bolsonaro had broken privacy laws. Twitter said in a statement that any violations of its content rules were "subject to appropriate measures" but declined to say whether the post constituted a violation. Critics said Bolsonaro's tweets showed he was more focused on riling his progressive critics than building consensus in Congress for necessary reforms, such as an overhaul of the country's budget-busting pension system. The president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Local media said the video was filmed at a street party, or bloco, in Sao Paulo. Brazil's most famous carnival celebrations take place in Rio de Janeiro, where Bolsonaro was a federal congressman for nearly three decades. This year's carnival has become increasingly politicized in the wake of Bolsonaro's election and the 2018 murder of Rio councilwoman Marielle Franco, a gay and black rights activist whose 2018 murder remains unsolved.

President Jair Bolsonaro shocks Brazil with 'golden shower' tweet

Facebook, Twitter and foreign investors need to do more to ensure they support human rights in Myanmar, the UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee said in a report published on Tuesday.

"Public institutions linked to the military, its supporters, extremist religious groups, and members of the government continue to proliferate hate speech and misinformation on Facebook," Lee wrote in the report, which also examined the role of military-run conglomerates in Myanmar's mining sector.

Facebook, Twitter and foreign investors need to do more to ensure they support human rights in Myanmar, the UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee said in a report published on Tuesday.

Facebook, Twitter and foreign investors need to do more to ensure they support human rights in Myanmar, the UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee said in a report published on Tuesday. "Public institutions linked to the military, its supporters, extremist religious groups, and members of the government continue to proliferate hate speech and misinformation on Facebook," Lee wrote in the report, which also examined the role of military-run conglomerates in Myanmar's mining sector.

UN Myanmar expert wants tighter checks by Facebook and investors

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk changed his Twitter display name to "Elon Tusk" and promised news from his electric carmaker later this week in another late-night flurry of tweets between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

In a series of tweets to his 25 million followers following charges from the US Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week, Musk accused the regulator of failing to read Tesla's annual reports and said its oversight was "broken".

Overnight, he changed his display https://twitter.com/elonmusk name and added an elephant tag.

<img alt="Elon Musk Twitter" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ac345fe8-f194-4088-83bd-710fb3f78093" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%2810%29_1.jpg" />

Shares of the company were up nearly 5 per cent at $312.15 in afternoon trading on Wednesday, after Musk said Tesla would have "news" at 2 pm California time on Thursday.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/elon-musk-tweet-may-cost-him-job-as-tesla-ceo-199947">Elon Musk tweet may cost him </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/elon-musk-tweet-may-cost-him-job-as-tesla-ceo-199947">job</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/elon-musk-tweet-may-cost-him-job-as-tesla-ceo-199947"> as Tesla CEO</a>

The company, which is deep in debt as it ramps up production of its popular Model 3 sedan, is due to repay a $920 million convertible bond a day later.

Convertible issues give bondholders the right to trade their debt for equity after shares rise over a certain price. Tesla shares are currently about $48 below the $359.87 conversion price.

Tesla had $3.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of December, according to the company's annual filing.

Musk had promised last year to have his public statements vetted by the company's board, as part of a settlement with the SEC that headed off demands for him to resign as Tesla CEO.

Tesla did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk changed his Twitter display name to "Elon Tusk" and promised news from his electric carmaker later this week in another late-night flurry of tweets between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk changed his Twitter display name to "Elon Tusk" and promised news from his electric carmaker later this week in another late-night flurry of tweets between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. In a series of tweets to his 25 million followers following charges from the US Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week, Musk accused the regulator of failing to read Tesla's annual reports and said its oversight was "broken". Overnight, he changed his display https://twitter.com/elonmusk name and added an elephant tag. Shares of the company were up nearly 5 per cent at $312.15 in afternoon trading on Wednesday, after Musk said Tesla would have "news" at 2 pm California time on Thursday. Also read: Elon Musk tweet may cost him job as Tesla CEO The company, which is deep in debt as it ramps up production of its popular Model 3 sedan, is due to repay a $920 million convertible bond a day later. Convertible issues give bondholders the right to trade their debt for equity after shares rise over a certain price. Tesla shares are currently about $48 below the $359.87 conversion price. Tesla had $3.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of December, according to the company's annual filing. Musk had promised last year to have his public statements vetted by the company's board, as part of a settlement with the SEC that headed off demands for him to resign as Tesla CEO. Tesla did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Meet Elon Tusk: Tesla chief changes Twitter display name

The standoff between US stock regulators and mercurial <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/sec-asks-us-judge-to-hold-teslas-musk-in-contempt-of-violating-deal-199725">Tesla chief Elon Musk</a> has taken a dramatic turn over a tweet that could cost the entrepreneur his job as CEO of the electric carmaker.

Musk, 47, is a visionary and inventive boss but is also highly unpredictable, especially on social network Twitter, where he often communicates in defiance of rules imposed on executives of publicly-traded companies.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday accused him of violating the terms of a court-endorsed deal between him and the regulatory agency stating that he should avoid sending any tweet that could affect the price of Tesla shares.

On February 19, he tweeted that Tesla would make 500,000 cars in 2019 -- up from the 400,000 that the company had estimated until then, as it grapples with production problems with the Model 3.

Musk corrected himself four hours later, saying that Tesla would indeed produce about 400,000 cars this year: "Meant to say annualized production rate at end of 2019 probably around 500k."

But that correction was not enough for a federal judge, who gave Musk two weeks to explain why he should be spared from being held in contempt for violating the agreement with the SEC.

Options&nbsp; 
"No CEO would survive this," said Charles Elson, a corporate governance specialist at the University of Delaware.

"If the board wishes to get ahead of the problem, they may have to take action as serious as relieving Musk of his executive responsibilities, at least for a period of time," said Stephen Davis, a senior fellow at Harvard's Program on Corporate Governance.

For Davis, executives of publicly traded companies have a responsibility to provide accurate information.&nbsp;

"You have special responsibility to be accurate... if information is not accurate, then the question arises, are you the right person to be running a public company?"

Last year, the SEC opened an investigation into Tesla and Musk after he tweeted that he planned to take Tesla private and already had the financing to do it -- an assertion that proved false but nonetheless made investors who bet against the company lose millions.

Credibility at stake&nbsp; 
To settle fraud charges stemming from the tweet, Musk had to resign as Tesla chairman, both he and the company had to pay a $20 million fine and the SEC demanded oversight of his social media use.

"We are sceptical that (Tesla) can prove oversight, particularly given that its new general counsel resigned last week just hours after the social media posts in question," said Garett Nelson of CFRA Research.

"We believe Musk is likely to be subject to additional penalties which could include any number of measures -- additional fines, social media restrictions or worse."

While the February 19 tweet "was presumably to highlight what (Tesla) has achieved in a short period of time, it also opens the door to potential legal jeopardy for Musk," said Canaccord Genuity analyst Jed Dorsheimer.

The penalty against Musk could be heavy because the SEC's credibility as guarantor of investors' interests is at stake, said Davis.

"It's not only about Elon Musk. I think at the end of the day it's also about the SEC sending a signal to all corporate leaders that the information they release to the market needs to be accurate," he added.

Musk's reasoning is that "if I leave company collapses and everyone loses so, therefore, I can do whatever I want" -- an argument the SEC should ignore, Elson said.

"Unless they react to this appropriately, they've got a real problem enforcing these laws against other people."

The standoff between US stock regulators and mercurial Tesla chief Elon Musk has taken a dramatic turn over a tweet that could cost the entrepreneur his job as CEO of the electric carmaker.

The standoff between US stock regulators and mercurial Tesla chief Elon Musk has taken a dramatic turn over a tweet that could cost the entrepreneur his job as CEO of the electric carmaker. Musk, 47, is a visionary and inventive boss but is also highly unpredictable, especially on social network Twitter, where he often communicates in defiance of rules imposed on executives of publicly-traded companies. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday accused him of violating the terms of a court-endorsed deal between him and the regulatory agency stating that he should avoid sending any tweet that could affect the price of Tesla shares. On February 19, he tweeted that Tesla would make 500,000 cars in 2019 -- up from the 400,000 that the company had estimated until then, as it grapples with production problems with the Model 3. Musk corrected himself four hours later, saying that Tesla would indeed produce about 400,000 cars this year: "Meant to say annualized production rate at end of 2019 probably around 500k." But that correction was not enough for a federal judge, who gave Musk two weeks to explain why he should be spared from being held in contempt for violating the agreement with the SEC. Options "No CEO would survive this," said Charles Elson, a corporate governance specialist at the University of Delaware. "If the board wishes to get ahead of the problem, they may have to take action as serious as relieving Musk of his executive responsibilities, at least for a period of time," said Stephen Davis, a senior fellow at Harvard's Program on Corporate Governance. For Davis, executives of publicly traded companies have a responsibility to provide accurate information. "You have special responsibility to be accurate... if information is not accurate, then the question arises, are you the right person to be running a public company?" Last year, the SEC opened an investigation into Tesla and Musk after he tweeted that he planned to take Tesla private and already had the financing to do it -- an assertion that proved false but nonetheless made investors who bet against the company lose millions. Credibility at stake To settle fraud charges stemming from the tweet, Musk had to resign as Tesla chairman, both he and the company had to pay a $20 million fine and the SEC demanded oversight of his social media use. "We are sceptical that (Tesla) can prove oversight, particularly given that its new general counsel resigned last week just hours after the social media posts in question," said Garett Nelson of CFRA Research. "We believe Musk is likely to be subject to additional penalties which could include any number of measures -- additional fines, social media restrictions or worse." While the February 19 tweet "was presumably to highlight what (Tesla) has achieved in a short period of time, it also opens the door to potential legal jeopardy for Musk," said Canaccord Genuity analyst Jed Dorsheimer. The penalty against Musk could be heavy because the SEC's credibility as guarantor of investors' interests is at stake, said Davis. "It's not only about Elon Musk. I think at the end of the day it's also about the SEC sending a signal to all corporate leaders that the information they release to the market needs to be accurate," he added. Musk's reasoning is that "if I leave company collapses and everyone loses so, therefore, I can do whatever I want" -- an argument the SEC should ignore, Elson said. "Unless they react to this appropriately, they've got a real problem enforcing these laws against other people."

Elon Musk tweet may cost him job as Tesla CEO

US President Donald Trump on Monday expressed concern about oil prices and repeated his previous calls on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to keep prices steady.

On Monday, oil prices edged up amid political uncertainty and sanctions and involuntary curbs on several producers but could face pressure from continued anxiety over the global economy and record US exports.

"Oil prices getting too high. OPEC, please relax and take it easy. World cannot take a price hike - fragile!" Trump, whose administration has sanctioned crude from Iran and Venezuela, tweeted.

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Oil prices getting too high. OPEC, please relax and take it easy. World cannot take a price hike - fragile!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1100002139282309121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
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OPEC members and non-OPEC producers such as Russia are leading efforts to rebalance the market and support oil prices.

Trump, who has made the US economy one of his top issues, has repeatedly tweeted about oil prices and OPEC, airing complaints about higher prices, including ahead of the organizations meeting in December.

US President Donald Trump on Monday expressed concern about oil prices and repeated his previous calls on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to keep prices steady.

US President Donald Trump on Monday expressed concern about oil prices and repeated his previous calls on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to keep prices steady. On Monday, oil prices edged up amid political uncertainty and sanctions and involuntary curbs on several producers but could face pressure from continued anxiety over the global economy and record US exports. "Oil prices getting too high. OPEC, please relax and take it easy. World cannot take a price hike - fragile!" Trump, whose administration has sanctioned crude from Iran and Venezuela, tweeted. Oil prices getting too high. OPEC, please relax and take it easy. World cannot take a price hike - fragile! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2019 × OPEC members and non-OPEC producers such as Russia are leading efforts to rebalance the market and support oil prices. Trump, who has made the US economy one of his top issues, has repeatedly tweeted about oil prices and OPEC, airing complaints about higher prices, including ahead of the organizations meeting in December.

Trump calls on OPEC to 'relax,' says oil prices are too high

A parliamentary panel Monday asked micro-blogging site <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/twitter-forms-internal-team-for-upholding-electoral-integrity-on-platform-in-india-198824">Twitter to address issues</a> in real-time and engage more with the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of general elections and also summoned senior officials of other social media platforms <a href="http://www.wionews.com/opinions/hard-to-ignore-congress-form-asks-for-caste-along-with-twitter-whatsapp-197165">Facebook, WhatsApp </a>and <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/2019-lok-sabha-elections-instagram-a-new-game-changer-to-woo-young-voters-186133">Instagram</a> on March 6.

This was informed by Anurag Thakur, chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, after a nearly three-and-a-half-hour meeting with Global Vice President of Public Policy for Twitter Colin Crowell and other officials of the micro-blogging platform.

Thakur said Twitter officials were asked to "engage more" with the ECI and address issues on a "real-time" basis.

The Twitter officials were told that there should not be any "international interference" in the Lok Sabha polls.

Sources said the social media platform was categorically asked to ensure the forthcoming elections are not undermined and influenced by foreign entities.

This message to the micro-blogging site was in an apparent reference to numerous complaints of interference by social media platforms in the US elections, they said.

Thakur said Twitter officials replied to most questions and would submit replies to remaining queries in writing in 10 days.

The panel, which hears the views of the representatives of Twitter on 'safeguarding citizens rights on social/online news media platforms', has also summoned public policy heads of Facebook, WhatsApp and Platform, he said.

Sources also revealed that Thakur read out a letter addressed to him by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey during the meeting.

A parliamentary panel Monday asked micro-blogging site Twitter to address issues in real-time and engage more with the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of general elections and also summoned senior officials of other social media platforms Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram on March 6.

A parliamentary panel Monday asked micro-blogging site Twitter to address issues in real-time and engage more with the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of general elections and also summoned senior officials of other social media platforms Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram on March 6. This was informed by Anurag Thakur, chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, after a nearly three-and-a-half-hour meeting with Global Vice President of Public Policy for Twitter Colin Crowell and other officials of the micro-blogging platform. Thakur said Twitter officials were asked to "engage more" with the ECI and address issues on a "real-time" basis. The Twitter officials were told that there should not be any "international interference" in the Lok Sabha polls. Sources said the social media platform was categorically asked to ensure the forthcoming elections are not undermined and influenced by foreign entities. This message to the micro-blogging site was in an apparent reference to numerous complaints of interference by social media platforms in the US elections, they said. Thakur said Twitter officials replied to most questions and would submit replies to remaining queries in writing in 10 days. The panel, which hears the views of the representatives of Twitter on 'safeguarding citizens rights on social/online news media platforms', has also summoned public policy heads of Facebook, WhatsApp and Platform, he said. Sources also revealed that Thakur read out a letter addressed to him by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey during the meeting.

Lok Sabha elections: Parliamentary panel asks Twitter to engage more with Election Commission; summons Facebook, WhatsApp officials on March 6 

An Indian parliamentary panel has summoned representatives of Facebook Inc, its messaging services WhatsApp and photo-sharing app Instagram to appear before it early next month and discuss how to safeguard citizens' rights on social media.

Social media in the world's largest democracy have become a hotbed for circulation of fake political news and tech firms face intense scrutiny ahead of a general election due before May, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek a second term.

In a circular late on Thursday, the parliamentary committee on information technology, chaired by Anurag Thakur, said it would hear the views of officials from Facebook and its units on March 6.

The subject would be "safeguarding citizens' rights on social or online news media platforms," it added.

It was not immediately clear whether the panel had asked Indian or global executives of the three firms to appear.

Facebook declined to comment, while WhatsApp and Instagram did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The panel has previously summoned social network Twitter Inc's Chief Executive Jack Dorsey to appear on Monday to discuss the same topic.

"These are issues for all Internet services globally," Twitter said on Friday, adding that Colin Crowell, its global vice president of public policy, is to meet the panel on Monday.

Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter have overhauled policies to boost transparency ahead of the general election and rein in misinformation.

Alphabet Inc's Google this week launched a programme to train journalists in areas such as online verification and fact checking before the polls. 
&nbsp;

An Indian parliamentary panel has summoned representatives of Facebook Inc, its messaging services WhatsApp and photo-sharing app Instagram to appear before it early next month and discuss how to safeguard citizens' rights on social media.

An Indian parliamentary panel has summoned representatives of Facebook Inc, its messaging services WhatsApp and photo-sharing app Instagram to appear before it early next month and discuss how to safeguard citizens' rights on social media. Social media in the world's largest democracy have become a hotbed for circulation of fake political news and tech firms face intense scrutiny ahead of a general election due before May, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek a second term. In a circular late on Thursday, the parliamentary committee on information technology, chaired by Anurag Thakur, said it would hear the views of officials from Facebook and its units on March 6. The subject would be "safeguarding citizens' rights on social or online news media platforms," it added. It was not immediately clear whether the panel had asked Indian or global executives of the three firms to appear. Facebook declined to comment, while WhatsApp and Instagram did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The panel has previously summoned social network Twitter Inc's Chief Executive Jack Dorsey to appear on Monday to discuss the same topic. "These are issues for all Internet services globally," Twitter said on Friday, adding that Colin Crowell, its global vice president of public policy, is to meet the panel on Monday. Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter have overhauled policies to boost transparency ahead of the general election and rein in misinformation. Alphabet Inc's Google this week launched a programme to train journalists in areas such as online verification and fact checking before the polls.

Indian lawmakers summon Facebook officials over citizens' rights protection

Microblogging platform Twitter Thursday said it has formed an internal, cross-functional group to lead "electoral integrity work" in India that will proactively support partner escalations, and identify potential threats from malicious actors.

The US-based company, which has been facing heat over allegations of political bias in India, said its teams work closely with political parties across the spectrum to train them on using Twitter to best engage with their constituents.

"Similar to the model put in place for other recent elections around the world such as the US, Brazil, and Mexico, Twitter has formed an internal, cross-functional elections group to lead electoral integrity work in India from now through polling day," Twitter said in a statement.&nbsp;

Using proprietary-built internal tools, the team proactively protects trends, supports partner escalations, and identifies potential threats from malicious actors, it added.

Twitter has been summoned by the parliamentary panel on information technology to appear before it on February 25. The panel had decided to call senior Twitter officials against the backdrop of growing concerns about safeguarding citizens' data privacy and the possibility that social media could be used to interfere in elections.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the government has been warning social media platforms of strong action if any attempt was made to influence the country's electoral process through undesirable means.

Twitter, in its statement Thursday, said its India team is continuing "transparent and consistent communication" with political parties as well as the Election Commission of India so that they know how to report suspicious, abusive, and rule-violating activity to Twitter.

The company, which counts India among its largest markets, has also launched a dedicated, elections-specific support portal for election partners to provide feedback directly about issues and concerns that could arise during the 2019 Indian election.&nbsp;

"This process is designed to ensure the company receives and reviews critical feedback about emerging issues as quickly as possible," it added.

Twitter said its teams continue to hold training and workshops with both regional and national parties and their respective state units.&nbsp;

"In last year, eight regional parties were onboard to Twitter including DMK, AIADMK, Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Telangana Rashtra Samiti, and Makkal Needhi Mariam," it said.&nbsp;

The company is also working with Indian political parties to verify candidates, elected officials, and relevant party officials whose accounts will be active in the public conversation, it added.

"We deeply respect the integrity of the election process and are committed to providing a service that fosters and facilitates free and open democratic debate. This is a constant process of learning and we gain insights from every election around the world, which helps inform our approach to this evolving challenge," Twitter Global Vice President Public Policy Colin Crowell said.

He added that the 2019 Lok Sabha is a priority for the company and its "dedicated cross-functional team is working to ensure that the health of the public conversation is enhanced and protected at this important time".

Microblogging platform Twitter Thursday said it has formed an internal, cross-functional group to lead "electoral integrity work" in India that will proactively support partner escalations, and identify potential threats from malicious actors.

Microblogging platform Twitter Thursday said it has formed an internal, cross-functional group to lead "electoral integrity work" in India that will proactively support partner escalations, and identify potential threats from malicious actors. The US-based company, which has been facing heat over allegations of political bias in India, said its teams work closely with political parties across the spectrum to train them on using Twitter to best engage with their constituents. "Similar to the model put in place for other recent elections around the world such as the US, Brazil, and Mexico, Twitter has formed an internal, cross-functional elections group to lead electoral integrity work in India from now through polling day," Twitter said in a statement. Using proprietary-built internal tools, the team proactively protects trends, supports partner escalations, and identifies potential threats from malicious actors, it added. Twitter has been summoned by the parliamentary panel on information technology to appear before it on February 25. The panel had decided to call senior Twitter officials against the backdrop of growing concerns about safeguarding citizens' data privacy and the possibility that social media could be used to interfere in elections. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the government has been warning social media platforms of strong action if any attempt was made to influence the country's electoral process through undesirable means. Twitter, in its statement Thursday, said its India team is continuing "transparent and consistent communication" with political parties as well as the Election Commission of India so that they know how to report suspicious, abusive, and rule-violating activity to Twitter. The company, which counts India among its largest markets, has also launched a dedicated, elections-specific support portal for election partners to provide feedback directly about issues and concerns that could arise during the 2019 Indian election. "This process is designed to ensure the company receives and reviews critical feedback about emerging issues as quickly as possible," it added. Twitter said its teams continue to hold training and workshops with both regional and national parties and their respective state units. "In last year, eight regional parties were onboard to Twitter including DMK, AIADMK, Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Telangana Rashtra Samiti, and Makkal Needhi Mariam," it said. The company is also working with Indian political parties to verify candidates, elected officials, and relevant party officials whose accounts will be active in the public conversation, it added. "We deeply respect the integrity of the election process and are committed to providing a service that fosters and facilitates free and open democratic debate. This is a constant process of learning and we gain insights from every election around the world, which helps inform our approach to this evolving challenge," Twitter Global Vice President Public Policy Colin Crowell said. He added that the 2019 Lok Sabha is a priority for the company and its "dedicated cross-functional team is working to ensure that the health of the public conversation is enhanced and protected at this important time".

Twitter forms internal team for upholding electoral integrity on platform in India

Nepal's government on Wednesday tabled draft legislation that would impose harsh <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/bill-introduced-by-nepal-pm-proposes-five-years-of-jail-for-posting-anti-government-content-on-social-media-197921">penalties for "improper" social media posts</a>, igniting concerns it could be used to suppress freedom of speech and stifle dissent.

Under the proposed law, the government would have the power to block social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube unless they register in Nepal.

And social media posts deemed defamatory or against national sovereignty could be punished with up to five years in jail and a fine of 1.5 million Nepalese rupees ($13,000).

No timetable was given for passing the bill, but activists have described it as an attempt to shackle criticism of the powerful communist government, which has a two-thirds majority in parliament.

"The bill is against the freedom of expression and justice as it criminalises online expression," Tara Nath Dahal of Freedom Forum, a media freedom organisation, told AFP.

The government has defended the bill, saying it is needed to ensure data and internet security.

"The bill was registered to manage social networking sites because the challenges caused by such sites are increasing," information minister Gokul Prasad Baskota told parliament.

Under the proposed law, the government can also instruct social network site operators to remove posts. Failure to do so could lead to a three-year jail term and a 30,000-rupee fine.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on the government to address concerns raised by rights groups.

"The proposed law put forward by the Nepal government is a blatant attempt to control and muzzle freedom of expression on social media," it said in a statement.

"Freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Nepal constitution, and this must be respected and protected by the government."

The ruling party has shown increasing intolerance for dissent since its landslide victory in 2017.&nbsp;

Another law barring civil servants from criticising government policies on social media was tabled earlier this month.

A popular folk singer was forced to take down a satirical anti-corruption song from YouTube last week after pressure from ruling party cadres.

Nepal, with a population of about 30 million, has an internet penetration of 57 percent.&nbsp;

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have millions of users in the South Asian nation.

Nepal's government on Wednesday tabled draft legislation that would impose harsh penalties for "improper" social media posts, igniting concerns it could be used to suppress freedom of speech and stifle dissent.

Nepal's government on Wednesday tabled draft legislation that would impose harsh penalties for "improper" social media posts, igniting concerns it could be used to suppress freedom of speech and stifle dissent. Under the proposed law, the government would have the power to block social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube unless they register in Nepal. And social media posts deemed defamatory or against national sovereignty could be punished with up to five years in jail and a fine of 1.5 million Nepalese rupees ($13,000). No timetable was given for passing the bill, but activists have described it as an attempt to shackle criticism of the powerful communist government, which has a two-thirds majority in parliament. "The bill is against the freedom of expression and justice as it criminalises online expression," Tara Nath Dahal of Freedom Forum, a media freedom organisation, told AFP. The government has defended the bill, saying it is needed to ensure data and internet security. "The bill was registered to manage social networking sites because the challenges caused by such sites are increasing," information minister Gokul Prasad Baskota told parliament. Under the proposed law, the government can also instruct social network site operators to remove posts. Failure to do so could lead to a three-year jail term and a 30,000-rupee fine. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on the government to address concerns raised by rights groups. "The proposed law put forward by the Nepal government is a blatant attempt to control and muzzle freedom of expression on social media," it said in a statement. "Freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Nepal constitution, and this must be respected and protected by the government." The ruling party has shown increasing intolerance for dissent since its landslide victory in 2017. Another law barring civil servants from criticising government policies on social media was tabled earlier this month. A popular folk singer was forced to take down a satirical anti-corruption song from YouTube last week after pressure from ruling party cadres. Nepal, with a population of about 30 million, has an internet penetration of 57 percent. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have millions of users in the South Asian nation.

Nepal social media bill sparks freedom of speech concerns

Twitter on Tuesday rolled out tools in Europe which will make it easier for voters to identify political campaign ads tied to crucial European Parliament elections in May amidst fears of Russian disinformation campaigns and threats of regulatory action.

Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook have come under pressure to do more to combat fake news and the spread of extremism and propaganda online. The European Union is concerned about Russia's role. Russia has repeatedly denied any such actions.

Twitter said its political campaigning ads policy, introduced during the US&nbsp;midterm elections, will also be launched in India and Australia, both of which are also heading to the polls.

In essence, it means that anyone can view ads put on Twitter endorsing a party or a candidate on its Ads Transparency Center, with details on billing information, ad spending and demographic targeting data. The ads will be available indefinitely.

A visual label and disclaimer information on promoted content will allow users to identify political campaign ads and who paid for them.

"Our political campaigning ads policy is being expanded to cover #EUElections2019, providing the general public with an additional layer of insight into who is running a political campaign ad on Twitter," the company said in a blog post.

It said candidates or organisations will have to go through a certification process with proof of identity before they can run political campaigning ads on its site. This policy will kick off on March 11.

Twitter on Tuesday rolled out tools in Europe which will make it easier for voters to identify political campaign ads tied to crucial European Parliament elections in May amidst fears of Russian disinformation campaigns and threats of regulatory action.

Twitter on Tuesday rolled out tools in Europe which will make it easier for voters to identify political campaign ads tied to crucial European Parliament elections in May amidst fears of Russian disinformation campaigns and threats of regulatory action. Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook have come under pressure to do more to combat fake news and the spread of extremism and propaganda online. The European Union is concerned about Russia's role. Russia has repeatedly denied any such actions. Twitter said its political campaigning ads policy, introduced during the US midterm elections, will also be launched in India and Australia, both of which are also heading to the polls. In essence, it means that anyone can view ads put on Twitter endorsing a party or a candidate on its Ads Transparency Center, with details on billing information, ad spending and demographic targeting data. The ads will be available indefinitely. A visual label and disclaimer information on promoted content will allow users to identify political campaign ads and who paid for them. "Our political campaigning ads policy is being expanded to cover #EUElections2019, providing the general public with an additional layer of insight into who is running a political campaign ad on Twitter," the company said in a blog post. It said candidates or organisations will have to go through a certification process with proof of identity before they can run political campaigning ads on its site. This policy will kick off on March 11.

Twitter launches political ad tracking tools in Europe ahead of key EU polls

European nations must take back hundreds of Islamic State group fighters captured in Syria, President Donald Trump said late Saturday, after a delay in announcing what he said would be the end of the "caliphate."

Trump shocked allies in December by declaring the pullout of roughly 2,000 US troops who had been assisting local forces in Syria against IS, whose sole remaining territory is half a square kilometer (one-fifth of a square mile) in eastern Syria.

The pending US pullout set off a countdown for governments whose citizens, having joined IS, were captured by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

"The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-backed-syrian-forces-launch-final-battle-against-islamic-state-enclave-196295">800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria</a> and put them on trial," Trump said in a tweet, using another acronym for IS.

"The Caliphate is ready to fall. The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them. The US&nbsp;does not want to watch as these ISIS fighters permeate Europe, which is where they are expected to go."

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The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial. The Caliphate is ready to fall. The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them........
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1096980408401625088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Once the US-led coalition declares it has taken all IS territories, the White House is expected to withdraw American troops.

When that happens, the risk is high that "foreign terrorist fighters" will escape SDF control, posing a new threat.

For about two weeks, the Trump administration has been pushing its allies to take their citizens home, and the US said it was ready to help in the repatriation, but time has been running out.

Several countries, including France, that have chosen to leave the jihadists in SDF detention now confront a diplomatic, legal, political and logistical puzzle.&nbsp;

"We do so much, and spend so much - Time for others to step up and do the job that they are so capable of doing. We are pulling back after 100% Caliphate victory!" Trump said in his late-Saturday tweets.

On Friday he said announcements on the fall of the caliphate would be made "over the next 24 hours," but that deadline came and went.

Deep transatlantic rift 
An SDF commander said his US-backed forces slowed their advance to protect civilians.

The jihadists declared a "caliphate" in large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014, but have since lost all but a tiny patch of territory near the Iraqi border.

Trump's Syria pullout has highlighted the deep trans-Atlantic rift that emerged under his presidency, and the differing views of the two sides were on display Saturday at a security conference in Munich.

A French government source criticized the Trump administration's approach as "we're leaving, you're staying" and added: "They're trying to manage the consequences of a hasty decision and making us carry the responsibility."

European nations must take back hundreds of Islamic State group fighters captured in Syria, President Donald Trump said late Saturday, after a delay in announcing what he said would be the end of the "caliphate.

European nations must take back hundreds of Islamic State group fighters captured in Syria, President Donald Trump said late Saturday, after a delay in announcing what he said would be the end of the "caliphate." Trump shocked allies in December by declaring the pullout of roughly 2,000 US troops who had been assisting local forces in Syria against IS, whose sole remaining territory is half a square kilometer (one-fifth of a square mile) in eastern Syria. The pending US pullout set off a countdown for governments whose citizens, having joined IS, were captured by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). "The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial," Trump said in a tweet, using another acronym for IS. "The Caliphate is ready to fall. The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them. The US does not want to watch as these ISIS fighters permeate Europe, which is where they are expected to go." The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial. The Caliphate is ready to fall. The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them........ — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2019 × Once the US-led coalition declares it has taken all IS territories, the White House is expected to withdraw American troops. When that happens, the risk is high that "foreign terrorist fighters" will escape SDF control, posing a new threat. For about two weeks, the Trump administration has been pushing its allies to take their citizens home, and the US said it was ready to help in the repatriation, but time has been running out. Several countries, including France, that have chosen to leave the jihadists in SDF detention now confront a diplomatic, legal, political and logistical puzzle. "We do so much, and spend so much - Time for others to step up and do the job that they are so capable of doing. We are pulling back after 100% Caliphate victory!" Trump said in his late-Saturday tweets. On Friday he said announcements on the fall of the caliphate would be made "over the next 24 hours," but that deadline came and went. Deep transatlantic rift An SDF commander said his US-backed forces slowed their advance to protect civilians. The jihadists declared a "caliphate" in large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014, but have since lost all but a tiny patch of territory near the Iraqi border. Trump's Syria pullout has highlighted the deep trans-Atlantic rift that emerged under his presidency, and the differing views of the two sides were on display Saturday at a security conference in Munich. A French government source criticized the Trump administration's approach as "we're leaving, you're staying" and added: "They're trying to manage the consequences of a hasty decision and making us carry the responsibility."

Take back jihadists, Trump tells Europe

Is Twitter politically motivated? Know from Dirk Visser, IT expert

Some taxpayers are getting a bitter surprise this year as their usual annual tax refunds have shrunk — or turned into tax bills — even though President Donald Trump loudly promised the largest tax cut "in American history."

And with <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-house-democrats-question-irs-audits-of-trump-taxes-195908">tax season underway</a>, thousands of unhappy taxpayers have been venting their displeasure on Twitter, using hashtags like #GOPTaxscam, and some threatened not to vote for Trump again.

"Lowest refund I have ever had and I am 50 yrs old. No wall and now this tax reform sucks too!!" a woman going by "Speziale-Matheny" wrote from the crucial political swing state of Florida.

"Starting to doubt Trump. I voted for him and trusted him too."

During the year, American wage earners see a portion of each paycheck withheld as income tax, and many then receive a refund the following year if they have overpaid the federal government. That cash boost is eagerly awaited each year — and used to help pay off debt or make large purchases.

But the 2017 tax overhaul — which Republicans promoted as a boon to the middle class — meant many workers paid less in taxes during the year reducing the amount withheld, a change which may have gone unnoticed.

And the reform also cut some popular deductions, sometimes resulting in thinner refunds or even unexpected tax bills.

Early data from the US Internal Revenue Service show that refunds so far this year are 8.4 per cent lower than 2018 payouts on average, falling to $1,865 from $2,035.

However, many millions of more taxpayers will be filing tax returns by the annual April 15 deadline, meaning this figure could change.

Mark Mazur, assistant treasury secretary for tax policy under former President Barack Obama, told AFP the negative reaction was "understandable."

"People focused on the amount of the refund but that's not the same as their tax liability, the amount of tax they pay for the year," he said.

Because of lower withholding during the year, some taxpayers have in effect already seen the benefit of the tax cut in their higher paychecks, said Mazur, who is vice president at the Urban Institute.

About five per cent of taxpayers — 7.5 million people — will, in fact, see a tax increase, while about 80 per cent should pay less, he said.

'Angry, disappointed and betrayed'&nbsp;

The IRS on Wednesday said taxpayers who suddenly found they owe taxes could pay their bill in installments and apply for a waiver of penalties normally imposed for failing to pay by the deadline.

"The IRS understands there were many changes that affected people last year, and the new penalty waiver will help taxpayers who inadvertently had too little tax withheld," IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement.

A key change of the 2017 tax reform is that it limited federal deductions for certain state and local taxes, such as real estate taxes.&nbsp;

As a result, many homeowners in states with higher property taxes will owe more to the federal government.

Neil Frankel, a New York accountant, told AFP people were feeling "angry, disappointed and betrayed."

"I sympathize with them. The new tax law's withholding tables were incorrect and misleading. A complete shenanigan," he added.

"Since my clients are mostly professionals, I don't really hear any screaming," he said. "However, I do hear long diatribes on hatred for the US government."

Last year, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin invited taxpayers to use an online calculator to estimate their tax payments and determine if they should modify their withholding amount.

This week the Treasury Department said media reports on the lower refunds were "misleading."

"Refunds are consistent with 2017 levels and down slightly from 2018 based on a small, initial sample from only a few days of data," the department said on Twitter.

But, Mazur said, perception is key. When the administration of former President George W Bush cut taxes in 2001, it mailed out checks directly.

"Taxpayers remembered that they got that check," he said.

Under Obama, however, a tax cut showed up as smaller withholdings and fatter checks during each pay cycle.

"Most Americans when they were surveyed didn't think they got a tax cut from Obama," he said.

Some taxpayers are getting a bitter surprise this year as their usual annual tax refunds have shrunk — or turned into tax bills — even though President Donald Trump loudly promised the largest tax cut "in American history.

Some taxpayers are getting a bitter surprise this year as their usual annual tax refunds have shrunk — or turned into tax bills — even though President Donald Trump loudly promised the largest tax cut "in American history." And with tax season underway, thousands of unhappy taxpayers have been venting their displeasure on Twitter, using hashtags like #GOPTaxscam, and some threatened not to vote for Trump again. "Lowest refund I have ever had and I am 50 yrs old. No wall and now this tax reform sucks too!!" a woman going by "Speziale-Matheny" wrote from the crucial political swing state of Florida. "Starting to doubt Trump. I voted for him and trusted him too." During the year, American wage earners see a portion of each paycheck withheld as income tax, and many then receive a refund the following year if they have overpaid the federal government. That cash boost is eagerly awaited each year — and used to help pay off debt or make large purchases. But the 2017 tax overhaul — which Republicans promoted as a boon to the middle class — meant many workers paid less in taxes during the year reducing the amount withheld, a change which may have gone unnoticed. And the reform also cut some popular deductions, sometimes resulting in thinner refunds or even unexpected tax bills. Early data from the US Internal Revenue Service show that refunds so far this year are 8.4 per cent lower than 2018 payouts on average, falling to $1,865 from $2,035. However, many millions of more taxpayers will be filing tax returns by the annual April 15 deadline, meaning this figure could change. Mark Mazur, assistant treasury secretary for tax policy under former President Barack Obama, told AFP the negative reaction was "understandable." "People focused on the amount of the refund but that's not the same as their tax liability, the amount of tax they pay for the year," he said. Because of lower withholding during the year, some taxpayers have in effect already seen the benefit of the tax cut in their higher paychecks, said Mazur, who is vice president at the Urban Institute. About five per cent of taxpayers — 7.5 million people — will, in fact, see a tax increase, while about 80 per cent should pay less, he said. 'Angry, disappointed and betrayed' The IRS on Wednesday said taxpayers who suddenly found they owe taxes could pay their bill in installments and apply for a waiver of penalties normally imposed for failing to pay by the deadline. "The IRS understands there were many changes that affected people last year, and the new penalty waiver will help taxpayers who inadvertently had too little tax withheld," IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement. A key change of the 2017 tax reform is that it limited federal deductions for certain state and local taxes, such as real estate taxes. As a result, many homeowners in states with higher property taxes will owe more to the federal government. Neil Frankel, a New York accountant, told AFP people were feeling "angry, disappointed and betrayed." "I sympathize with them. The new tax law's withholding tables were incorrect and misleading. A complete shenanigan," he added. "Since my clients are mostly professionals, I don't really hear any screaming," he said. "However, I do hear long diatribes on hatred for the US government." Last year, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin invited taxpayers to use an online calculator to estimate their tax payments and determine if they should modify their withholding amount. This week the Treasury Department said media reports on the lower refunds were "misleading." "Refunds are consistent with 2017 levels and down slightly from 2018 based on a small, initial sample from only a few days of data," the department said on Twitter. But, Mazur said, perception is key. When the administration of former President George W Bush cut taxes in 2001, it mailed out checks directly. "Taxpayers remembered that they got that check," he said. Under Obama, however, a tax cut showed up as smaller withholdings and fatter checks during each pay cycle. "Most Americans when they were surveyed didn't think they got a tax cut from Obama," he said.

US taxpayers face bitter surprise after Trump's tax cuts

Something strange is (again) going on on<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-ceo-says-his-and-other-tech-firms-have-not-combated-abuse-enough-197033"> Twitter.&nbsp;</a>

A number of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/google-facebook-twitter-must-do-more-against-fake-news-eu-193737">Twitter users</a> have been saying (nay complaining) that the number of likes and retweets of their tweets have, upsettingly, been decreasing with time.&nbsp;

Twitter has agreed with them.&nbsp;

Many of the aggrieved Twitter users took to, well, social media to vent their grievances. Along with their grievances, they posted short videos and screenshots of the responses to their tweets, showing how the number of likes and retweets had dwindled (drastically) over time.

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WHAT'S GOING ON WITH <a href="https://twitter.com/Twitter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Twitter</a>?!. For my last several posts, posted a few hours ago, the number of retweets and likes suddenly declined, dropping hundreds of retweets and likes. 
 
ARE YOU EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM?
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) <a href="https://twitter.com/larryelder/status/1095404447176351744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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why is twitter deleting so many likes off peoples’ tweets? are accounts getting mass s*spended or... <a href="https://t.co/MabHOOxXi0">pic.twitter.com/MabHOOxXi0</a>
— bts went to the grammys (@functionbts) <a href="https://twitter.com/functionbts/status/1095335583109402624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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twitter please stop taking away the likes on my tweets they're all that I have
— gracie hoos (@cottoncandaddy) <a href="https://twitter.com/cottoncandaddy/status/1095423375680262144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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So here’s what <a href="https://twitter.com/Twitter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@twitter</a> can do in a day’s work to one RW tweet. Reduce 1200+ RTs to 500. Then again bring-down 1000+ RTs to 700+. 
 
No wonder <a href="https://twitter.com/jack?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jack</a> has been summoned by Parliamentary Committee. This is fraud and calls for serious investigation! 
 
cc: <a href="https://twitter.com/ianuragthakur?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ianuragthakur</a> <a href="https://t.co/p0VMHwPziX">pic.twitter.com/p0VMHwPziX</a>
— Nupur Sharma (@NupurSharmaBJP) <a href="https://twitter.com/NupurSharmaBJP/status/1095297289491529728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Twitter meanwhile has issued a statement saying they are working on resolving the issue.

They also apologised for the inconvenience.

"Some people around the world are experiencing an issue with notifications, Likes, and Retweets. We’re working on resolving this and will follow up soon," Twitter said in its statement.

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Some people around the world are experiencing an issue with notifications, Likes, and Retweets. We’re working on resolving this and will follow up soon. We apologize for the inconvenience.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1095443405092450304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The social media giant however has not said what might be causing the problem. Nor has it specified by when the bug will be fixed.

Twitter has a global user base of close to 236 million active users. It was not certain how many of them were affected by the problem.

Earlier in February, a Twitter bug confused Android users into believing they were viewing posts from random strangers when actually it was Twitter that was mislabelling usernames on retweets.

(With inputs from agencies)

Something strange is (again) going on on Twitter. A number of Twitter users have been saying (nay complaining) that the number of likes and retweets of their tweets have, upsettingly, been decreasing with time.

Something strange is (again) going on on Twitter. A number of Twitter users have been saying (nay complaining) that the number of likes and retweets of their tweets have, upsettingly, been decreasing with time. Twitter has agreed with them. Many of the aggrieved Twitter users took to, well, social media to vent their grievances. Along with their grievances, they posted short videos and screenshots of the responses to their tweets, showing how the number of likes and retweets had dwindled (drastically) over time. WHAT'S GOING ON WITH @Twitter?!. For my last several posts, posted a few hours ago, the number of retweets and likes suddenly declined, dropping hundreds of retweets and likes. ARE YOU EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM? — Larry Elder (@larryelder) February 12, 2019 × why is twitter deleting so many likes off peoples’ tweets? are accounts getting mass s*spended or... pic.twitter.com/MabHOOxXi0 — bts went to the grammys (@functionbts) February 12, 2019 × twitter please stop taking away the likes on my tweets they're all that I have — gracie hoos (@cottoncandaddy) February 12, 2019 × So here’s what @twitter can do in a day’s work to one RW tweet. Reduce 1200+ RTs to 500. Then again bring-down 1000+ RTs to 700+. No wonder @jack has been summoned by Parliamentary Committee. This is fraud and calls for serious investigation! cc: @ianuragthakur pic.twitter.com/p0VMHwPziX — Nupur Sharma (@NupurSharmaBJP) February 12, 2019 × Twitter meanwhile has issued a statement saying they are working on resolving the issue. They also apologised for the inconvenience. "Some people around the world are experiencing an issue with notifications, Likes, and Retweets. We’re working on resolving this and will follow up soon," Twitter said in its statement. Some people around the world are experiencing an issue with notifications, Likes, and Retweets. We’re working on resolving this and will follow up soon. We apologize for the inconvenience. — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) February 12, 2019 × The social media giant however has not said what might be causing the problem. Nor has it specified by when the bug will be fixed. Twitter has a global user base of close to 236 million active users. It was not certain how many of them were affected by the problem. Earlier in February, a Twitter bug confused Android users into believing they were viewing posts from random strangers when actually it was Twitter that was mislabelling usernames on retweets. (With inputs from agencies)

Twitter users say likes, retweets decreasing; social media giant agrees

Days before the Twitter representative was summoned by the Parliamentary Committee in India to answer accusations of alleged bias against "nationalist" accounts, the social media had released a blog stating that it was passionate to serve the users in the country and was committed to the principles of openness, transparency and impartiality.

Twitter had been summoned by the committee on February 11 but the company had declined to appear saying the notice was too short. The summons had been sent out on February 1.&nbsp;

The committee head and BJP MP Anurag Thakur on February 5 had tweeted about the agenda of the February 11 Parliamentary meet as examining the issue of "safeguarding citizens'' rights on social/online news media platforms".

Over the last few months, social media players like Facebook, Twitter and Google have promised to infuse more transparency into political advertisements on their platform, and have since announced a slew of measures as part of election integrity efforts.

In the blog released on February 8, Twitter had repeatedly clarified that its product and policies were not influenced by any political ideology.

The blog stated that the company had made over 70 product, policy and operational changes since the beginning of 2018 to make people feel safe.

Citing that mistakes can happen, the blog said that these mistakes were not political statements of intent, they were "basic human error rate of running the fastest, most open conversational tool in history".

The blog also assured that the company had a specialised global team to enforce the Twitter Rules with impartiality.

Speaking about the trending topics the blog said that the trends were based on regular speculation and the topics trending have been popular for a while or on a daily basis.

It further added that the trends are not determined by the total number of Tweets on a topic alone but also the number of Tweets in a given time period (i.e. velocity), which is not necessarily related to the total number of Tweets (i.e. volume).

It also stated that "very rare instances" where Twitter prevents certain content from trending is when trends contain profanity or adult/graphic references, incite hate on the basis of a protected characteristic, or violate the Twitter Rules.&nbsp;

It reiterated that political ideology had never been the reason for preventing trending topics.

Last year Twitter had updated the follower counts of every account and had removed a significant number of inactive accounts. The social networking site said it would continue to proactively identify and challenge problematic accounts globally.

In the wake of the Lok Sabha elections the company said it was working with Indian political parties to verify candidates, elected officials and relevant party officials.

Days before the Twitter representative was summoned by the Parliamentary Committee in India to answer accusations of alleged bias against "nationalist" accounts, the social media had released a blog stating that it was passionate to serve the users in the country and was committed to the principles of openness, transparency and impartiality.

Days before the Twitter representative was summoned by the Parliamentary Committee in India to answer accusations of alleged bias against "nationalist" accounts, the social media had released a blog stating that it was passionate to serve the users in the country and was committed to the principles of openness, transparency and impartiality. Twitter had been summoned by the committee on February 11 but the company had declined to appear saying the notice was too short. The summons had been sent out on February 1. The committee head and BJP MP Anurag Thakur on February 5 had tweeted about the agenda of the February 11 Parliamentary meet as examining the issue of "safeguarding citizens'' rights on social/online news media platforms". Over the last few months, social media players like Facebook, Twitter and Google have promised to infuse more transparency into political advertisements on their platform, and have since announced a slew of measures as part of election integrity efforts. In the blog released on February 8, Twitter had repeatedly clarified that its product and policies were not influenced by any political ideology. The blog stated that the company had made over 70 product, policy and operational changes since the beginning of 2018 to make people feel safe. Citing that mistakes can happen, the blog said that these mistakes were not political statements of intent, they were "basic human error rate of running the fastest, most open conversational tool in history". The blog also assured that the company had a specialised global team to enforce the Twitter Rules with impartiality. Speaking about the trending topics the blog said that the trends were based on regular speculation and the topics trending have been popular for a while or on a daily basis. It further added that the trends are not determined by the total number of Tweets on a topic alone but also the number of Tweets in a given time period (i.e. velocity), which is not necessarily related to the total number of Tweets (i.e. volume). It also stated that "very rare instances" where Twitter prevents certain content from trending is when trends contain profanity or adult/graphic references, incite hate on the basis of a protected characteristic, or violate the Twitter Rules. It reiterated that political ideology had never been the reason for preventing trending topics. Last year Twitter had updated the follower counts of every account and had removed a significant number of inactive accounts. The social networking site said it would continue to proactively identify and challenge problematic accounts globally. In the wake of the Lok Sabha elections the company said it was working with Indian political parties to verify candidates, elected officials and relevant party officials.

Ahead of Parliamentary meet, Twitter said it was passionate to serve the Indian users 

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/parliamentary-committee-gives-twitter-another-15-day-deadline-to-appear-before-it-196714">Parliamentary</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/parliamentary-committee-gives-twitter-another-15-day-deadline-to-appear-before-it-196714"> committee gives Twitter another 15-day deadline to appear before it</a>

Twitter had been summoned by the committee today (Monday, February 11) but the company had declined to appear saying the notice was too short. The summons had been sent out on February 1.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/i-hope-we-can-together-start-a-new-kind-of-politics-priyanka-gandhi-says-on-lucknow-road-show-196688">'I hope we can together start a new kind of politics,' Priyanka Gandhi says on Lucknow roadshow</a>

The recently-appointed Congress general secretary of eastern Uttar Pradesh, accompanied by her brother and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, and Congress leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and Raj Babbar, held a 20-kilometre roadshow in the Uttar Pradesh capital on Monday.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/with-2019-general-elections-closing-in-facebook-expands-fact-checking-network-to-curb-fake-news-in-india-196669">With Lok Sabha elections coming, Facebook says it is expanding its fact-checking network</a>

Facebook Inc is expanding its fact-checking network in India to curb the spread of misinformation as the world's largest democracy prepares for a general election that must be held by May, the US-based social media giant said on Monday.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/uk-economy-posts-slowest-growth-in-six-years-196677">Brexit uncertainty: UK economy posts slowest growth in six years</a>

Britain's economy grew at the slowest pace in six years in 2018 with near-flat output in the final quarter, data showed Monday, as Brexit uncertainty and weaker global growth bites.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/rouhani-iran-to-continue-expanding-military-might-missile-work-196656">Iran to continue expanding military might, missile work: President Hassan Rouhani</a>

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that Iran was determined to expand its military power and ballistic missile programme despite mounting pressure from hostile countries to curb Iran's defensive work, state TV reported.

&nbsp;

Parliamentary committee gives Twitter another 15-day deadline to appear before it Twitter had been summoned by the committee today (Monday, February 11) but the company had declined to appear saying the notice was too short.

Parliamentary committee gives Twitter another 15-day deadline to appear before it Twitter had been summoned by the committee today (Monday, February 11) but the company had declined to appear saying the notice was too short. The summons had been sent out on February 1. 'I hope we can together start a new kind of politics,' Priyanka Gandhi says on Lucknow roadshow The recently-appointed Congress general secretary of eastern Uttar Pradesh, accompanied by her brother and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, and Congress leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and Raj Babbar, held a 20-kilometre roadshow in the Uttar Pradesh capital on Monday. With Lok Sabha elections coming, Facebook says it is expanding its fact-checking network Facebook Inc is expanding its fact-checking network in India to curb the spread of misinformation as the world's largest democracy prepares for a general election that must be held by May, the US-based social media giant said on Monday. Brexit uncertainty: UK economy posts slowest growth in six years Britain's economy grew at the slowest pace in six years in 2018 with near-flat output in the final quarter, data showed Monday, as Brexit uncertainty and weaker global growth bites. Iran to continue expanding military might, missile work: President Hassan Rouhani Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that Iran was determined to expand its military power and ballistic missile programme despite mounting pressure from hostile countries to curb Iran's defensive work, state TV reported.

News brief: Big stories of the day

The parliamentary committee on information technology has given Twitter another 15 days to appear before it.&nbsp;

The news agency ANI quoted sources as saying the parliamentary committee, headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, passed a resolution, unanimously, that they would not meet any Twitter officials until senior members or the CEO of Twitter's global team deposed before the committee.&nbsp;

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Sources: Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology has passed a resolution unanimously that they will not meet any Twitter officials until senior members or CEO of the Twitter Global team depose before the Committee. 15 days deadline has been given to Twitter.
— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1094926635340652544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Twitter had been summoned by the committee today (Monday, February 11) but <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/twitter-ceo-and-senior-officials-refuse-to-appear-before-parliamentary-committee-196223">the company had declined to appear</a> saying the notice was too short.&nbsp;

The summons had been sent out on February 1.&nbsp;

Thakur had hinted earlier that action would be taken against the microblogging site.&nbsp;

"Of course it can be an issue of breach of parliamentary privilege. They are taking advantage of the world's biggest market and are unwilling to answer," IANS quoted Thakur as saying. He added that Twitter's reply has been taken note of by the committee&nbsp;and "we will take a serious note of it".

"It is a very serious subject, and the kind of reply they have given will be discussed in the parliamentary committee, and we will take further action on that," IANS quoted Thakur as saying.

BJP national spokesperson Meenakashi Lekhi had also warned Twitter of "repercussions".&nbsp;

"In this situation, if Twitter is disrespecting the established institution of Parliament, then there are repercussions," she said at a press conference.

"There are repercussions because in any democratic country, institutions need to be respected by the world powers. If there is any violation of any sort, then there are repercussions to those violations...The institutions need to be respected," Lekhi added.

A Twitter team including Twitter India representatives had arrived in Parliament on Monday to depose before the committee but the committee had insisted on senior members or the CEO of the global team.&nbsp;

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Twitter team including Twitter India representatives arrive at Parliament to appear before Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology today. Earlier Twitter had refused to appear citing 'short notice' of the hearing. The Committee had called Twitter via a letter on Feb 1. <a href="https://t.co/UZkLoEIyu3">pic.twitter.com/UZkLoEIyu3</a>
— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1094922083983867905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The Twitter CEO is Jack Dorsey, who is also co-founder of the microblogging site.&nbsp;

Dorsey had recently got into trouble in India, after he was pictured next to a woman holding up a poster saying "<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/twitter-says-sorry-as-ceos-photo-in-india-with-placard-sparks-anger-178384">Smash Brahminical patriarchy</a>", and in Myanmar, where he was accused <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-slammed-after-he-tweets-about-everything-in-myanmar-but-rohingya-crisis-182891">of tweeting about everything but the Rohingya crisis</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Twitter had been summoned by the parliamentary committee to answer accusations of alleged bias against "nationalist" accounts.&nbsp;The committee is deliberating the issue of safeguarding citizens' rights on social media platforms.

The parliamentary committee on information technology has given Twitter another 15 days to appear before it. The news agency ANI quoted sources as saying the parliamentary committee, headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, passed a resolution, unanimously, that they would not meet any Twitter officials until senior members or the CEO of Twitter's global team deposed before the committee.

The parliamentary committee on information technology has given Twitter another 15 days to appear before it. The news agency ANI quoted sources as saying the parliamentary committee, headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, passed a resolution, unanimously, that they would not meet any Twitter officials until senior members or the CEO of Twitter's global team deposed before the committee. Sources: Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology has passed a resolution unanimously that they will not meet any Twitter officials until senior members or CEO of the Twitter Global team depose before the Committee. 15 days deadline has been given to Twitter. — ANI (@ANI) February 11, 2019 × Twitter had been summoned by the committee today (Monday, February 11) but the company had declined to appear saying the notice was too short. The summons had been sent out on February 1. Thakur had hinted earlier that action would be taken against the microblogging site. "Of course it can be an issue of breach of parliamentary privilege. They are taking advantage of the world's biggest market and are unwilling to answer," IANS quoted Thakur as saying. He added that Twitter's reply has been taken note of by the committee and "we will take a serious note of it". "It is a very serious subject, and the kind of reply they have given will be discussed in the parliamentary committee, and we will take further action on that," IANS quoted Thakur as saying. BJP national spokesperson Meenakashi Lekhi had also warned Twitter of "repercussions". "In this situation, if Twitter is disrespecting the established institution of Parliament, then there are repercussions," she said at a press conference. "There are repercussions because in any democratic country, institutions need to be respected by the world powers. If there is any violation of any sort, then there are repercussions to those violations...The institutions need to be respected," Lekhi added. A Twitter team including Twitter India representatives had arrived in Parliament on Monday to depose before the committee but the committee had insisted on senior members or the CEO of the global team. Twitter team including Twitter India representatives arrive at Parliament to appear before Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology today. Earlier Twitter had refused to appear citing 'short notice' of the hearing. The Committee had called Twitter via a letter on Feb 1. pic.twitter.com/UZkLoEIyu3 — ANI (@ANI) February 11, 2019 × The Twitter CEO is Jack Dorsey, who is also co-founder of the microblogging site. Dorsey had recently got into trouble in India, after he was pictured next to a woman holding up a poster saying "Smash Brahminical patriarchy", and in Myanmar, where he was accused of tweeting about everything but the Rohingya crisis. Twitter had been summoned by the parliamentary committee to answer accusations of alleged bias against "nationalist" accounts. The committee is deliberating the issue of safeguarding citizens' rights on social media platforms.

Parliamentary committee gives Twitter another 15-day deadline to appear before it

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra&nbsp;on Monday joined Twitter and garnered a massive response with tens of thousands following her on the social media platform within hours.

Her logging on to Twitter with the account @priyankagandhi came on the day of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/watch-priyanka-gandhi-vadra-begins-roadshow-in-lucknow-196634">her maiden visit to Uttar Pradesh as an AICC general secretary</a>.

"Smt Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is now on Twitter. You may follow her at @priyankagandhi," a tweet from the Congress' official Twitter handle said.

She didn't post a tweet but followed seven people, including her brother and party chief Rahul Gandhi as well as party leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot, Ashok Gehlot Randeep Singh Surjewala, Ahmed Patel and the Congress's official account.

<img alt="Priyanka gandhi profile" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2c6dd391-348c-4944-8f01-e2a1af5d3347" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Priyanka%20gandhi%20profile.JPG" />

Over 57,000 people followed her within hours of her joining the microblogging site.

Priyanka Gandhi (47) and Scindia (48) took charge as AICC general secretary UP East and UP west respectively last week.

Congress seems to have learnt its lessons from 2014 and has been scaling up its operations on social media platforms to challenge the BJP on a front which has been the saffron party's forte.

Rahul Gandhi has also been using Twitter for his attacks on the government and analysts credit his aggressive social media campaign for a turnaround of his image among the people.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday joined Twitter and garnered a massive response with tens of thousands following her on the social media platform within hours.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday joined Twitter and garnered a massive response with tens of thousands following her on the social media platform within hours. Her logging on to Twitter with the account @priyankagandhi came on the day of her maiden visit to Uttar Pradesh as an AICC general secretary. "Smt Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is now on Twitter. You may follow her at @priyankagandhi," a tweet from the Congress' official Twitter handle said. She didn't post a tweet but followed seven people, including her brother and party chief Rahul Gandhi as well as party leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot, Ashok Gehlot Randeep Singh Surjewala, Ahmed Patel and the Congress's official account. Over 57,000 people followed her within hours of her joining the microblogging site. Priyanka Gandhi (47) and Scindia (48) took charge as AICC general secretary UP East and UP west respectively last week. Congress seems to have learnt its lessons from 2014 and has been scaling up its operations on social media platforms to challenge the BJP on a front which has been the saffron party's forte. Rahul Gandhi has also been using Twitter for his attacks on the government and analysts credit his aggressive social media campaign for a turnaround of his image among the people.

Priyanka Gandhi makes Twitter debut, gets thousands of followers in a few hours

The BJP Saturday warned Twitter of "repercussions" after the social network company's CEO and top officials <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/twitter-ceo-and-senior-officials-refuse-to-appear-before-parliamentary-committee-196223">declined to appear before the parliamentary committee</a> on information technology, saying no agency has the right to disrespect institutions of the country.

The parliamentary panel had summoned Twitter CEO and officials over the issue of safeguarding citizens' rights on social media platforms.

"In any country, no agency has the right to disrespect the institutions of that country. In this situation, if Twitter is disrespecting the established institution of Parliament, then there are repercussions," BJP spokesperson and New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi told reporters.

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Anurag Thakur, Chairman of Parliamentary IT Committee on Twitter CEO&amp;senior officials of the company have refused to appear before Parliamentary Committee on IT on Feb 11: We've taken a serious note of Twitter’s reply. We'll discuss that on Monday (11.02) &amp; take further action <a href="https://t.co/wXgl0xj0v0">pic.twitter.com/wXgl0xj0v0</a>
— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1094236129170141184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2019</a></blockquote>
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"There are repercussions because in any democratic country, institutions need to be respected by the world powers. If there is any violation of any sort, then there are repercussions to those violations...The institutions need to be respected," she said.

The parliamentary committee, headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, had issued a summon to Twitter via an official letter on February 1.

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Piyush Goel on 'Twitter CEO&amp;senior officials refusing to appear before Parliamentary Committee on IT:Chairman of RS&amp;Speaker of LS will decide on what will be the action in such cases when somebody refuses to submit before parliamentary committee,govt doesn’t take decisions on it. <a href="https://t.co/tYcn0rNVlK">pic.twitter.com/tYcn0rNVlK</a>
— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1094197366742122496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Its meeting was scheduled for February 7, but was later postponed to February 11 to allow the Twitter CEO and senior officials more time to make themselves available, sources in the panel said.

Twitter cited "short notice of the hearing" as the reason, despite being given 10 days to travel, the sources said.&nbsp;

The BJP Saturday warned Twitter of "repercussions" after the social network company's CEO and top officials declined to appear before the parliamentary committee on information technology, saying no agency has the right to disrespect institutions of the country.

The BJP Saturday warned Twitter of "repercussions" after the social network company's CEO and top officials declined to appear before the parliamentary committee on information technology, saying no agency has the right to disrespect institutions of the country. The parliamentary panel had summoned Twitter CEO and officials over the issue of safeguarding citizens' rights on social media platforms. "In any country, no agency has the right to disrespect the institutions of that country. In this situation, if Twitter is disrespecting the established institution of Parliament, then there are repercussions," BJP spokesperson and New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi told reporters. Anurag Thakur, Chairman of Parliamentary IT Committee on Twitter CEO&senior officials of the company have refused to appear before Parliamentary Committee on IT on Feb 11: We've taken a serious note of Twitter’s reply. We'll discuss that on Monday (11.02) & take further action pic.twitter.com/wXgl0xj0v0 — ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2019 × "There are repercussions because in any democratic country, institutions need to be respected by the world powers. If there is any violation of any sort, then there are repercussions to those violations...The institutions need to be respected," she said. The parliamentary committee, headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, had issued a summon to Twitter via an official letter on February 1. Piyush Goel on 'Twitter CEO&senior officials refusing to appear before Parliamentary Committee on IT:Chairman of RS&Speaker of LS will decide on what will be the action in such cases when somebody refuses to submit before parliamentary committee,govt doesn’t take decisions on it. pic.twitter.com/tYcn0rNVlK — ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2019 × Its meeting was scheduled for February 7, but was later postponed to February 11 to allow the Twitter CEO and senior officials more time to make themselves available, sources in the panel said. Twitter cited "short notice of the hearing" as the reason, despite being given 10 days to travel, the sources said.

There will be 'repercussions': BJP warns Twitter for declining to appear before Parliamentary Committee

Twitter CEO and senior officials of the company have refused to <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/parliamentary-committee-calls-officials-of-government-twitter-to-discuss-citizens-rights-on-social-media-195435">appear before the Parliamentary Committee</a> on Information Technology on February 11, citing “short notice” of the hearing.

The Committee had called Twitter via an official letter on February 1 to discuss issues concerning the use of social media.

The letter sent to Twitter by the Parliamentary Committee stated,&nbsp;"It may be noted that the Head of the Organisation has to appear before the Committee", sources said.

It further stated that "He/She may be accompanied by another representative," the sources added.&nbsp;

The Committee has also called officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) for the meeting.

The Committee meeting was scheduled to be held on February 7 and later postponed to February 11 to allow the Twitter CEO and senior officials more time to make themselves available, the sources said.

Twitter cited "short notice of the hearing" as their reason despite being given 10 days to travel, they added.

The Committee received a letter on February 7 from Vijaya Gadde, Twitters global lead for Legal, Policy, Trust&nbsp;and&nbsp;Safety stating that "No one who engages publicly for

Twitter India makes enforcement decisions with respect to our rules for content or accounts in India."

Deputing a junior employee to represent Twitter at the Parliamentary IT Committee has not gone down well with Indian lawmakers especially since they have no decision making authority as stated in the Twitter letter by Gadde.

“The lack of seriousness and disregard shown by Twitter to India's Parliament is not new. Social Media Tech CEO's have evaded answers and tried to avoid Parliamentary hearings in Singapore and the US Congress previously,” a source noted.

This comes at a time when there are growing concerns about&nbsp;safeguarding&nbsp;citizens data privacy and election interference through social media platforms.&nbsp;

Twitter CEO and senior officials of the company have refused to appear before the Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology on February 11, citing “short notice” of the hearing.

Twitter CEO and senior officials of the company have refused to appear before the Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology on February 11, citing “short notice” of the hearing. The Committee had called Twitter via an official letter on February 1 to discuss issues concerning the use of social media. The letter sent to Twitter by the Parliamentary Committee stated, "It may be noted that the Head of the Organisation has to appear before the Committee", sources said. It further stated that "He/She may be accompanied by another representative," the sources added. The Committee has also called officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) for the meeting. The Committee meeting was scheduled to be held on February 7 and later postponed to February 11 to allow the Twitter CEO and senior officials more time to make themselves available, the sources said. Twitter cited "short notice of the hearing" as their reason despite being given 10 days to travel, they added. The Committee received a letter on February 7 from Vijaya Gadde, Twitters global lead for Legal, Policy, Trust and Safety stating that "No one who engages publicly for Twitter India makes enforcement decisions with respect to our rules for content or accounts in India." Deputing a junior employee to represent Twitter at the Parliamentary IT Committee has not gone down well with Indian lawmakers especially since they have no decision making authority as stated in the Twitter letter by Gadde. “The lack of seriousness and disregard shown by Twitter to India's Parliament is not new. Social Media Tech CEO's have evaded answers and tried to avoid Parliamentary hearings in Singapore and the US Congress previously,” a source noted. This comes at a time when there are growing concerns about safeguarding citizens data privacy and election interference through social media platforms.

Twitter CEO and senior officials refuse to appear before Parliamentary Committee

The United States social media company Twitter reported a record quarterly revenue and its first full year of profitability Thursday, signs the company's efforts to promote healthy discourse on the platform appear to be paying off, according to a report from the Dow Jones Newswires made available to EFE.&nbsp;

The company also for the first time disclosed its number of daily users: 126 million, a figure Twitter said was up 1.6 per cent from the previous quarter.&nbsp;

The figure makes it easier to compare Twitter with its social-media peers Facebook and Snap, which have 1.52 billion and 186 million daily users, respectively.&nbsp;

Twitter said it measures its number of daily users differently than other companies because it counts only users who can view ads.&nbsp;

Revenue rose 24 per cent to $908.8 million in the fourth quarter, typically the heaviest spending period for advertisers, up from $731.6 million a year earlier. Those results topped analysts' projections of $867 million, according to FactSet.&nbsp;

Even so, Twitter's stock slid nearly 11 per cent in morning trading as investors homed in on the company's declining numbers of monthly users and its revenue forecast for the current quarter.&nbsp;

Twitter said its number of monthly users, the metric it has released for years, fell 1.5 per cent to 321 million from three months ago. Twitter has struggled for years with little to no momentum in building up its user base. It plans to stop disclosing monthly users after the current quarter.&nbsp;

Chief Executive Jack Dorsey said last year the company's priority was to reduce the amount of abuse that occurs on the platform. Although those efforts sometimes result in closing the accounts of bad actors, other users tend to spend more time on Twitter when there is less harassment. Marketers also say they are in favour of the changes because they don't like advertising alongside negative content.&nbsp;

Dorsey told analysts Thursday that the company needs to keep up efforts to minimize bad behaviour, something he sees as a growth initiative.&nbsp;

"We have to make Twitter more conversational," he said.&nbsp;

Twitter projected a sequential decline in revenue in the first quarter to between $715 million and $775 million. While that would be up from $665 million a year earlier, the range's midpoint of $745 million sits below the $764.93 million analysts had pencilled, according to Refinitiv.&nbsp;

Doing away with the monthly user number could suggest Twitter doesn't like the trends it is seeing in that area, raising questions about how it will grow daily users from a shrinking pool, said Colin Sebastian, an analyst at R.W. Baird.&nbsp;

He also pointed to higher expenses Twitter is facing in 2019 as it combats abuse, adds new features and digests its growing headcount. Twitter, which grew its employee number about 16 per cent last year, said it expects operating expenses up about 20 per cent in 2019.&nbsp;

Those costs could weigh on margins, Sebastian said.&nbsp;

Twitter's profit in the fourth quarter increased to $255.3 million, or 33 cents a share, from $91.1 million, or 12 cents a share, a year earlier, added the Dow Jones report supplied to EFE.&nbsp;

Robust spending in the online advertising industry also drove both Facebook's record quarterly profit and Snap's record quarterly revenue.

The United States social media company Twitter reported a record quarterly revenue and its first full year of profitability Thursday, signs the company's efforts to promote healthy discourse on the platform appear to be paying off, according to a report from the Dow Jones Newswires made available to EFE.

The United States social media company Twitter reported a record quarterly revenue and its first full year of profitability Thursday, signs the company's efforts to promote healthy discourse on the platform appear to be paying off, according to a report from the Dow Jones Newswires made available to EFE. The company also for the first time disclosed its number of daily users: 126 million, a figure Twitter said was up 1.6 per cent from the previous quarter. The figure makes it easier to compare Twitter with its social-media peers Facebook and Snap, which have 1.52 billion and 186 million daily users, respectively. Twitter said it measures its number of daily users differently than other companies because it counts only users who can view ads. Revenue rose 24 per cent to $908.8 million in the fourth quarter, typically the heaviest spending period for advertisers, up from $731.6 million a year earlier. Those results topped analysts' projections of $867 million, according to FactSet. Even so, Twitter's stock slid nearly 11 per cent in morning trading as investors homed in on the company's declining numbers of monthly users and its revenue forecast for the current quarter. Twitter said its number of monthly users, the metric it has released for years, fell 1.5 per cent to 321 million from three months ago. Twitter has struggled for years with little to no momentum in building up its user base. It plans to stop disclosing monthly users after the current quarter. Chief Executive Jack Dorsey said last year the company's priority was to reduce the amount of abuse that occurs on the platform. Although those efforts sometimes result in closing the accounts of bad actors, other users tend to spend more time on Twitter when there is less harassment. Marketers also say they are in favour of the changes because they don't like advertising alongside negative content. Dorsey told analysts Thursday that the company needs to keep up efforts to minimize bad behaviour, something he sees as a growth initiative. "We have to make Twitter more conversational," he said. Twitter projected a sequential decline in revenue in the first quarter to between $715 million and $775 million. While that would be up from $665 million a year earlier, the range's midpoint of $745 million sits below the $764.93 million analysts had pencilled, according to Refinitiv. Doing away with the monthly user number could suggest Twitter doesn't like the trends it is seeing in that area, raising questions about how it will grow daily users from a shrinking pool, said Colin Sebastian, an analyst at R.W. Baird. He also pointed to higher expenses Twitter is facing in 2019 as it combats abuse, adds new features and digests its growing headcount. Twitter, which grew its employee number about 16 per cent last year, said it expects operating expenses up about 20 per cent in 2019. Those costs could weigh on margins, Sebastian said. Twitter's profit in the fourth quarter increased to $255.3 million, or 33 cents a share, from $91.1 million, or 12 cents a share, a year earlier, added the Dow Jones report supplied to EFE. Robust spending in the online advertising industry also drove both Facebook's record quarterly profit and Snap's record quarterly revenue.

Twitter's push to reduce abuse pays off with revenue jump

Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology has called officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) and Twitter to a meeting on February 11 to discuss issues concerning the&nbsp;use of social media.

The meeting of the Committee, headed by BJP leader&nbsp;Anurag Thakur, will examine the issue of ‘Safeguarding citizens’ rights on social/online news media platforms’.

Officials of the MEITY and&nbsp;Twitter have been asked to present their views on it, Thakur said.

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The Parliamentary Commitee on Information Technology will examine the issue: 
 
SAFEGUARDING CITIZENS RIGHTS ON SOCIAL/ONLINE NEWS MEDIA PLATFORMS 
 
MEITY &amp; TWITTER will present their views. 
 
You can tweet/email your views: 
comit@sansad.nic.in <a href="https://t.co/bDYoSv5OHd">pic.twitter.com/bDYoSv5OHd</a>
— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) <a href="https://twitter.com/ianuragthakur/status/1092769666907455488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The meeting will give an opportunity to the members of the Committee to ask the officials of the government and Twitter about ways in which misuse of social platforms could be curbed.

The development comes against the backdrop of concerns over <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/centre-directs-whatsapp-to-come-out-with-effective-solutions-against-spread-of-fake-news-195319">misuse of social media platforms</a>, including through the use of foul and filthy language. &nbsp;

Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology has called officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) and Twitter to a meeting on February 11 to discuss issues concerning the use of social media.

Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology has called officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) and Twitter to a meeting on February 11 to discuss issues concerning the use of social media. The meeting of the Committee, headed by BJP leader Anurag Thakur, will examine the issue of ‘Safeguarding citizens’ rights on social/online news media platforms’. Officials of the MEITY and Twitter have been asked to present their views on it, Thakur said. The Parliamentary Commitee on Information Technology will examine the issue: SAFEGUARDING CITIZENS RIGHTS ON SOCIAL/ONLINE NEWS MEDIA PLATFORMS MEITY & TWITTER will present their views. You can tweet/email your views: comit@sansad.nic.in pic.twitter.com/bDYoSv5OHd — Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) February 5, 2019 × The meeting will give an opportunity to the members of the Committee to ask the officials of the government and Twitter about ways in which misuse of social platforms could be curbed. The development comes against the backdrop of concerns over misuse of social media platforms, including through the use of foul and filthy language.

Parliamentary Committee calls officials of government, Twitter to discuss citizens' rights on social media

Facebook said Thursday it took down hundreds of accounts from Iran that were part of a vast manipulation campaign operating in more than 20 countries.

The world's biggest social network said it removed 783 pages, groups and accounts "for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behaviour tied to Iran."

The pages were part of a campaign to promote Iranian interests in various countries by creating fake Facebook or Instagram identities as residents of those nations, according to a statement by <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-removes-more-pages-accounts-with-russia-links-191006">Nathaniel Gleicher, head of cybersecurity policy at Facebook.</a>

"We can prove that this is content emanating from Iran; controlled by actors in Iran, and most of the content is reposted from Iran state media," Gleicher said during a press briefing.

"But, we are not in a position to directly assert who the actor is in this case."

The announcement was the latest by Facebook as it seeks to stamp out efforts by state actors and others to manipulate the social network using fraudulent accounts.

"We are constantly working to detect and stop this type of activity because we don't want our services to be used to manipulate people," Gleicher said.

"In this case, the people behind this activity coordinated with one another and used fake accounts to misrepresent themselves, and that was the basis for our action."

The operators "typically represented themselves as locals, often using fake accounts, and posted news stories on current events," including "commentary that repurposed Iranian state media's reporting on topics like Israel-Palestine relations and the conflicts in Syria and Yemen," Gleicher said.

Twitter in the wings

Facebook's team looked for additional activity related to a large taken-down of Iran-linked content in August of last year and collaborated with Twitter which provided insights from the one-to-many messaging platform, according to Gleicher.

"This is an encouraging example of the kind of collaboration we are working to build across the industry," Gleicher said.

The operation dating back to as early as 2010 had 262 pages, 356 accounts, and three groups on Facebook, as well as 162 accounts on Instagram and were followed by about two million users.

About two million users followed at least one of these pages, about 1,600 accounts joined at least one of these groups.

More than 254,000 accounts followed at least one of these Instagram accounts.

Less than $30,000 was spent in total by the accounts on Facebook or Instagram ads, paid for mostly in US dollars, British pounds, and euros, according to the social network.

Facebook said the fake accounts were part of an influence campaign that operated in Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, US, and Yemen.

Facebook began looking into these kinds of activities after revelations of Russian influence campaigns during the 2016 US election, aimed at sowing discord.

Twitter meanwhile released a report on its efforts to curb manipulation during the 2018 US elections, noting that it blocked accounts originating in Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

Facebook said Thursday it took down hundreds of accounts from Iran that were part of a vast manipulation campaign operating in more than 20 countries. The world's biggest social network said it removed 783 pages, groups and accounts "for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behaviour tied to Iran.

Facebook said Thursday it took down hundreds of accounts from Iran that were part of a vast manipulation campaign operating in more than 20 countries. The world's biggest social network said it removed 783 pages, groups and accounts "for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behaviour tied to Iran." The pages were part of a campaign to promote Iranian interests in various countries by creating fake Facebook or Instagram identities as residents of those nations, according to a statement by Nathaniel Gleicher, head of cybersecurity policy at Facebook. "We can prove that this is content emanating from Iran; controlled by actors in Iran, and most of the content is reposted from Iran state media," Gleicher said during a press briefing. "But, we are not in a position to directly assert who the actor is in this case." The announcement was the latest by Facebook as it seeks to stamp out efforts by state actors and others to manipulate the social network using fraudulent accounts. "We are constantly working to detect and stop this type of activity because we don't want our services to be used to manipulate people," Gleicher said. "In this case, the people behind this activity coordinated with one another and used fake accounts to misrepresent themselves, and that was the basis for our action." The operators "typically represented themselves as locals, often using fake accounts, and posted news stories on current events," including "commentary that repurposed Iranian state media's reporting on topics like Israel-Palestine relations and the conflicts in Syria and Yemen," Gleicher said. Twitter in the wings Facebook's team looked for additional activity related to a large taken-down of Iran-linked content in August of last year and collaborated with Twitter which provided insights from the one-to-many messaging platform, according to Gleicher. "This is an encouraging example of the kind of collaboration we are working to build across the industry," Gleicher said. The operation dating back to as early as 2010 had 262 pages, 356 accounts, and three groups on Facebook, as well as 162 accounts on Instagram and were followed by about two million users. About two million users followed at least one of these pages, about 1,600 accounts joined at least one of these groups. More than 254,000 accounts followed at least one of these Instagram accounts. Less than $30,000 was spent in total by the accounts on Facebook or Instagram ads, paid for mostly in US dollars, British pounds, and euros, according to the social network. Facebook said the fake accounts were part of an influence campaign that operated in Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, US, and Yemen. Facebook began looking into these kinds of activities after revelations of Russian influence campaigns during the 2016 US election, aimed at sowing discord. Twitter meanwhile released a report on its efforts to curb manipulation during the 2018 US elections, noting that it blocked accounts originating in Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

Facebook takes down over 700 pages for engaging in Iran-led manipulation campaign

Google, Facebook, Twitter and Mozilla must do more to combat fake news as Europeans head towards an election or the companies will face the threat of regulatory action, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

Companies and trade bodies representing the advertising industry signed up to a voluntary code of conduct in October to ward off more heavy-handed legislation. Critics say not enough has been done since they signed up.

The European Union's executive said signatories to the code of practice had taken steps to remove fake accounts and limit sites promoting fake news but said more was needed.

"Now they should make sure these tools are available to everyone across the EU, monitor their efficiency, and continuously adapt to new means used by those spreading disinformation. There is no time to waste," EU Commissioner for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said.

European Parliament will hold elections in May while Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Ukraine all go to the polls in coming months.

Russia has faced allegations - which it denies - of spreading false information to influence the US&nbsp;presidential election and Britain's referendum on European Union membership in 2016, as well as Germany's national election in 2017.

The Commission called on Facebook to provide more clarity on how it uses its tools to fight fake news and told Google to expand its actions to more EU countries.

It said Twitter should provide more details on its measures while it said Mozilla's online browser should have more information on how it would limit details about users' browsing activities.

The Commission also lamented the absence of advertisers signing up to the pact.

Google said it had announced several measures such as disclosing whether political organisations or political issue advocacy groups were paying for European parliamentary election advertisements, and setting up a library with these details.

Google's Project Shield would help protect campaign groups and journalists from cyber-attacks, it said.

Facebook said: "The battle against false news is an ongoing one, and we need to work together with others in the technology industry, public authorities and governments to make continued progress."

Twitter said in a statement it had made several changes "including enhanced safety policies, better tools and resources for detecting and stopping malicious activity, tighter advertising standards, and increased transparency to promote better public understanding of all of these areas."

Mozilla had no immediate comment.

Google, Facebook, Twitter and Mozilla must do more to combat fake news as Europeans head towards an election or the companies will face the threat of regulatory action, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

Google, Facebook, Twitter and Mozilla must do more to combat fake news as Europeans head towards an election or the companies will face the threat of regulatory action, the European Commission said on Tuesday. Companies and trade bodies representing the advertising industry signed up to a voluntary code of conduct in October to ward off more heavy-handed legislation. Critics say not enough has been done since they signed up. The European Union's executive said signatories to the code of practice had taken steps to remove fake accounts and limit sites promoting fake news but said more was needed. "Now they should make sure these tools are available to everyone across the EU, monitor their efficiency, and continuously adapt to new means used by those spreading disinformation. There is no time to waste," EU Commissioner for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said. European Parliament will hold elections in May while Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Ukraine all go to the polls in coming months. Russia has faced allegations - which it denies - of spreading false information to influence the US presidential election and Britain's referendum on European Union membership in 2016, as well as Germany's national election in 2017. The Commission called on Facebook to provide more clarity on how it uses its tools to fight fake news and told Google to expand its actions to more EU countries. It said Twitter should provide more details on its measures while it said Mozilla's online browser should have more information on how it would limit details about users' browsing activities. The Commission also lamented the absence of advertisers signing up to the pact. Google said it had announced several measures such as disclosing whether political organisations or political issue advocacy groups were paying for European parliamentary election advertisements, and setting up a library with these details. Google's Project Shield would help protect campaign groups and journalists from cyber-attacks, it said. Facebook said: "The battle against false news is an ongoing one, and we need to work together with others in the technology industry, public authorities and governments to make continued progress." Twitter said in a statement it had made several changes "including enhanced safety policies, better tools and resources for detecting and stopping malicious activity, tighter advertising standards, and increased transparency to promote better public understanding of all of these areas." Mozilla had no immediate comment.

Google, Facebook, Twitter must do more against fake news: EU

A small fraction of the vast Twitter user base is spreading majority of the fake news, with conservatives and older people sharing misinformation more, according to a study of over 16,000 US Twitter accounts.

The study, published in the journal Science, found that 16 of the 16,442 accounts examined tweeted out nearly 80 per cent of the misinformation masquerading as news.

About 99 per cent of the Twitter users spread virtually no fake information in the most heated part of the election year in 2016, said David Lazer, a professor at the Northeastern University in the US.

Spreading fake information "is taking place in a very seamy, but small, corner of Twitter," Lazer said.

He said misinformation "super sharers" flooded Twitter: an average of 308 pieces of fakery each between August 1 and December 6 in 2016.

It is not just few people spreading it, but few people reading it, Lazer said.

"The vast majority of people are exposed to very little fake news despite the fact that there is a concerted effort to push it into the system," he said.

The researchers found the 16,442 accounts they analysed by starting with a random pool of voter records, matching names to Twitter users and then screening out accounts that appeared to not be controlled by real people.

Their conclusions are similar to a study earlier this month that looked at the spread of false information on Facebook.

It also found that few people shared fakery, but those who did were more likely to be over 65 and conservatives.

That makes this study more believable because two groups of researchers using different social media platforms, measuring political affiliation differently and with different panels of users came to the same conclusion, said Yonchai Benkler, co-director of Harvard Law School's centre on the internet and society.

Unlike the earlier Facebook study, Lazer did not interview the people but ranked people's politics based on what they read and shared on Twitter.

The researchers used several different sources of domains for false information masquerading as news -- not individual stories but overall sites -- from lists compiled by other academics and BuzzFeed.

The team found that among people they categorised as left-leaning and centrists, fewer than five per cent shared any fake information.

Among those they determined were right-leaning, 11 per cent of accounts shared misinformation masquerading as news. For those on the extreme right, it was 21 per cent.

A small fraction of the vast Twitter user base is spreading majority of the fake news, with conservatives and older people sharing misinformation more, according to a study of over 16,000 US Twitter accounts.

A small fraction of the vast Twitter user base is spreading majority of the fake news, with conservatives and older people sharing misinformation more, according to a study of over 16,000 US Twitter accounts. The study, published in the journal Science, found that 16 of the 16,442 accounts examined tweeted out nearly 80 per cent of the misinformation masquerading as news. About 99 per cent of the Twitter users spread virtually no fake information in the most heated part of the election year in 2016, said David Lazer, a professor at the Northeastern University in the US. Spreading fake information "is taking place in a very seamy, but small, corner of Twitter," Lazer said. He said misinformation "super sharers" flooded Twitter: an average of 308 pieces of fakery each between August 1 and December 6 in 2016. It is not just few people spreading it, but few people reading it, Lazer said. "The vast majority of people are exposed to very little fake news despite the fact that there is a concerted effort to push it into the system," he said. The researchers found the 16,442 accounts they analysed by starting with a random pool of voter records, matching names to Twitter users and then screening out accounts that appeared to not be controlled by real people. Their conclusions are similar to a study earlier this month that looked at the spread of false information on Facebook. It also found that few people shared fakery, but those who did were more likely to be over 65 and conservatives. That makes this study more believable because two groups of researchers using different social media platforms, measuring political affiliation differently and with different panels of users came to the same conclusion, said Yonchai Benkler, co-director of Harvard Law School's centre on the internet and society. Unlike the earlier Facebook study, Lazer did not interview the people but ranked people's politics based on what they read and shared on Twitter. The researchers used several different sources of domains for false information masquerading as news -- not individual stories but overall sites -- from lists compiled by other academics and BuzzFeed. The team found that among people they categorised as left-leaning and centrists, fewer than five per cent shared any fake information. Among those they determined were right-leaning, 11 per cent of accounts shared misinformation masquerading as news. For those on the extreme right, it was 21 per cent.

Few Twitter users spreading most fake news: Study

Pakistan government has declared sugarcane juice as the "national drink" of the country after a poll on Twitter, according to a media report.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;

The government conducted a poll on Twitter at which people were asked to decide the national drink of Pakistan. Options including orange juice, sugarcane juice and carrot juice were given in the poll, the Nation reported.

In the poll, 7616 people cast their votes. Around 81 per cent selected the option of sugarcane juice, 15 per cent voted in favour of the orange juice while 4 per cent chose the option of carrot juice, the daily said.

Upon securing majority votes, sugarcane juice was declared as the 'national drink' of Pakistan.

Pakistan government has declared sugarcane juice as the "national drink" of the country after a poll on Twitter, according to a media report. The government conducted a poll on Twitter at which people were asked to decide the national drink of Pakistan.

Pakistan government has declared sugarcane juice as the "national drink" of the country after a poll on Twitter, according to a media report. The government conducted a poll on Twitter at which people were asked to decide the national drink of Pakistan. Options including orange juice, sugarcane juice and carrot juice were given in the poll, the Nation reported. In the poll, 7616 people cast their votes. Around 81 per cent selected the option of sugarcane juice, 15 per cent voted in favour of the orange juice while 4 per cent chose the option of carrot juice, the daily said. Upon securing majority votes, sugarcane juice was declared as the 'national drink' of Pakistan.

Pakistan government declares sugarcane juice as 'national drink' after Twitter poll

Microsoft was investigating a disruption in its Bing search engine in China on Thursday, with social media users fearing it could be the latest foreign website to be blocked by censors.

Attempts to open cn.bing.com has resulted in an error message for users since Wednesday.

"We're aware of reports that Bing may be inaccessible to some customers in China and are investigating," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement.

China's Communist authorities operate an online censorship apparatus known as the "Great Firewall", which blocks a slew of websites including Facebook, Twitter and several foreign media outlets.

But it was not clear whether or not Bing joined the long list of prohibited websites, or if its China service was experiencing technical difficulties.

China's cyberspace administration could not immediately be reached for comment.

China's Great Firewall can be circumvented by using a virtual private network (VPN), which can hide a user's IP address.

While its rival Google shut down its search engine in China in 2010 after rows over censorship and hacking, Bing has continued to operate in the country along with Microsoft-owned Skype.

On Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media site, people complained about the lack of access, with some speculating that Bing too had been "walled off".

Others aired their dissatisfaction about having to use Baidu, China's largest domestic search service.

"I can't open Bing, but I don't want to use Baidu -- what to do?" wrote one user.

"Bing is actually dead -- is this to force me to use Baidu??" said another, cursing.

China has tightened policing of the internet in recent years, shuttering 26,000 "illegal" websites in 2018 alone and deleting six million online posts containing vulgar content, the official Xinhua news agency said earlier this month.

Bing's disruption comes as the United States and China are locked in a bruising trade war, with US accusations that China steals technological know-how among the core disagreements.

The two sides are scheduled for new trade negotiations next week.

Microsoft was investigating a disruption in its Bing search engine in China on Thursday, with social media users fearing it could be the latest foreign website to be blocked by censors.

Microsoft was investigating a disruption in its Bing search engine in China on Thursday, with social media users fearing it could be the latest foreign website to be blocked by censors. Attempts to open cn.bing.com has resulted in an error message for users since Wednesday. "We're aware of reports that Bing may be inaccessible to some customers in China and are investigating," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement. China's Communist authorities operate an online censorship apparatus known as the "Great Firewall", which blocks a slew of websites including Facebook, Twitter and several foreign media outlets. But it was not clear whether or not Bing joined the long list of prohibited websites, or if its China service was experiencing technical difficulties. China's cyberspace administration could not immediately be reached for comment. China's Great Firewall can be circumvented by using a virtual private network (VPN), which can hide a user's IP address. While its rival Google shut down its search engine in China in 2010 after rows over censorship and hacking, Bing has continued to operate in the country along with Microsoft-owned Skype. On Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media site, people complained about the lack of access, with some speculating that Bing too had been "walled off". Others aired their dissatisfaction about having to use Baidu, China's largest domestic search service. "I can't open Bing, but I don't want to use Baidu -- what to do?" wrote one user. "Bing is actually dead -- is this to force me to use Baidu??" said another, cursing. China has tightened policing of the internet in recent years, shuttering 26,000 "illegal" websites in 2018 alone and deleting six million online posts containing vulgar content, the official Xinhua news agency said earlier this month. Bing's disruption comes as the United States and China are locked in a bruising trade war, with US accusations that China steals technological know-how among the core disagreements. The two sides are scheduled for new trade negotiations next week.

Microsoft's Bing search engine goes offline in China

Your privacy on Facebook and Twitter may be at risk even if you have never been on social media or have deleted your account, a study suggests.

Individual choice has long been considered a bedrock principle of online privacy, said scientists from the University of Vermont in the US and the University of Adelaide in Australia.

However, the study shows that if a person leaves a social media platform -- or never joined -- the online posts and words of their friends still provide about 95 per cent of the "potential predictive accuracy," even without any of that person's data.

Published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, the study gathered more than thirty million public posts on Twitter from 13,905 users.

With this data, the researchers showed that information within the Twitter messages from eight or nine of a person's contacts make it possible to predict that person's later tweets as accurately as if they were looking directly at that person's own Twitter feed.

"Looked at from the other direction, when you sign up for Facebook or another social media platform, you think you're giving up your information, but you're giving up your friends' information too!" said James Bagrow from the University of Vermont.

The research raises profound questions about the fundamental nature of privacy -- and how, in a highly networked society, a person's choices and identity are embedded in that network.

The study shows that, at least in theory, a company, government or other actor can accurately profile a person -- think political party, favourite products, religious commitments -- from their friends, even if they have never been on social media or delete their account.

"There's no place to hide in a social network," said Lewis Mitchell, formerly a researcher at the University of Vermont and now a senior lecturer at the University of Adelaide in Australia.

How information moves on social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, has become a powerful factor in protest movements, national elections, and the rise and fall of commercial brands, researchers said.

People on these platforms reveal massive amounts of information about&nbsp; 
themselves -- and their friends, they said.

However, scientists have not known if there is a fundamental limit to how much predictability is contained within this tidal wave of data.

The scientists used their analysis of Twitter writings to show that there is a mathematical upper limit on how much predictive information a social network can hold.

However, it makes little difference if the person being profiled, or whose behaviour is being predicted, is on or off that network when their friends are on the network, researchers said.&nbsp;

Your privacy on Facebook and Twitter may be at risk even if you have never been on social media or have deleted your account, a study suggests. Individual choice has long been considered a bedrock principle of online privacy, said scientists from the University of Vermont in the US and the University of Adelaide in Australia.

Your privacy on Facebook and Twitter may be at risk even if you have never been on social media or have deleted your account, a study suggests. Individual choice has long been considered a bedrock principle of online privacy, said scientists from the University of Vermont in the US and the University of Adelaide in Australia. However, the study shows that if a person leaves a social media platform -- or never joined -- the online posts and words of their friends still provide about 95 per cent of the "potential predictive accuracy," even without any of that person's data. Published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, the study gathered more than thirty million public posts on Twitter from 13,905 users. With this data, the researchers showed that information within the Twitter messages from eight or nine of a person's contacts make it possible to predict that person's later tweets as accurately as if they were looking directly at that person's own Twitter feed. "Looked at from the other direction, when you sign up for Facebook or another social media platform, you think you're giving up your information, but you're giving up your friends' information too!" said James Bagrow from the University of Vermont. The research raises profound questions about the fundamental nature of privacy -- and how, in a highly networked society, a person's choices and identity are embedded in that network. The study shows that, at least in theory, a company, government or other actor can accurately profile a person -- think political party, favourite products, religious commitments -- from their friends, even if they have never been on social media or delete their account. "There's no place to hide in a social network," said Lewis Mitchell, formerly a researcher at the University of Vermont and now a senior lecturer at the University of Adelaide in Australia. How information moves on social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, has become a powerful factor in protest movements, national elections, and the rise and fall of commercial brands, researchers said. People on these platforms reveal massive amounts of information about themselves -- and their friends, they said. However, scientists have not known if there is a fundamental limit to how much predictability is contained within this tidal wave of data. The scientists used their analysis of Twitter writings to show that there is a mathematical upper limit on how much predictive information a social network can hold. However, it makes little difference if the person being profiled, or whose behaviour is being predicted, is on or off that network when their friends are on the network, researchers said.

Never been on social media? Your privacy may still be at risk, says study

Russia's communication watchdog said on Monday it was opening administrative proceedings against <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.wionews.com/entertainment/when-pm-modi-indulged-in-some-twitter-conversations-with-bollywood-stars-191728&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjjo9b_4f7fAhUJLo8KHS75Aq4QFggFMAA&amp;client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;usg=AOvVaw20c9deQJ6kS9ZuF2KJy51K">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-backs-election-integrity-ai-initiatives-in-germany-191671&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiz8vHs4f7fAhWLQo8KHaCTAfwQFggFMAA&amp;client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;usg=AOvVaw0z8aw3lk2sxdq9BlsmfZpJ">Facebook</a> for failing to explain how they plan to comply with local data laws, the Interfax news agency reported.

Roskomnadzor, the watchdog, was quoted as saying that Twitter and Facebook had not explained how and when they would comply with legislation that requires all servers used to store Russians' personal data to be located in Russia.

The agency's head, Alexander Zharov, was quoted as saying the companies have a month to provide information or else action would be taken against them.

Russia has introduced tougher internet laws in the last five years, requiring search engines to delete some search results, messaging services to share encryption keys with security services and social networks to store Russian users' personal data on servers within the country.

At the moment, the only tools Russia has to enforce its data rules are fines that typically only come to a few thousand dollars or blocking the offending online services, which is an option fraught with technical difficulties.

However, sources in November told Reuters that Moscow plans to impose stiffer fines on technology firms that fail to comply with Russian laws.

Russia's communication watchdog said on Monday it was opening administrative proceedings against Twitter and Facebook for failing to explain how they plan to comply with local data laws, the Interfax news agency reported.

Russia's communication watchdog said on Monday it was opening administrative proceedings against Twitter and Facebook for failing to explain how they plan to comply with local data laws, the Interfax news agency reported. Roskomnadzor, the watchdog, was quoted as saying that Twitter and Facebook had not explained how and when they would comply with legislation that requires all servers used to store Russians' personal data to be located in Russia. The agency's head, Alexander Zharov, was quoted as saying the companies have a month to provide information or else action would be taken against them. Russia has introduced tougher internet laws in the last five years, requiring search engines to delete some search results, messaging services to share encryption keys with security services and social networks to store Russian users' personal data on servers within the country. At the moment, the only tools Russia has to enforce its data rules are fines that typically only come to a few thousand dollars or blocking the offending online services, which is an option fraught with technical difficulties. However, sources in November told Reuters that Moscow plans to impose stiffer fines on technology firms that fail to comply with Russian laws.

Russia opens civil cases against Facebook, Twitter: Report

The young Saudi woman who fled her family seeking asylum abroad is scheduled to land in Canada on Saturday after successfully harnessing the power of Twitter to stave off deportation from Thailand.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/saudi-teens-asylum-case-being-judged-at-lightning-speed-189621">Rahaf Mohammed al-</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/saudi-teens-asylum-case-being-judged-at-lightning-speed-189621">Qunun</a>, 18, was already en route to Toronto late Friday when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would take her in.

Trudeau's surprise announcement came after officials had heavily hinted that she was bound for Australia.

"Canada has been unequivocal that we'll stand up for human rights and women's rights around the world," Trudeau said. "When the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/un-asks-australia-to-consider-saudi-teen-for-refugee-resettlement-189253">United Nations</a>&nbsp;made a request of us that we grant al-Qunun's asylum, we accepted."

The move is sure to further strain Canada's relations with the kingdom that went sideways last August over Ottawa's rights criticism of Saudi Arabia, prompting Riyadh to expel the Canadian ambassador and sever all trade and investment ties in protest.

Canada also sparked fury in Riyadh by demanding the "immediate release" of jailed rights campaigners, including Samar Badawi, the sister of jailed blogger Raif Badawi, whose family lives in Quebec.

Qunun's attempt to flee the ultra-conservative kingdom was embraced by rights groups as a beacon of defiance against repression.

Thai authorities initially threatened to deport her after she arrived in Bangkok from Kuwait last weekend.

But armed with a smartphone and hastily opened a Twitter account, she forced a U-turn from Thai immigration police who handed her into the care of the UN's refugee agency as the #SaveRahaf hashtag bounced across the world.

'Precarious situation'

"Ms. al-Qunun's plight has captured the world's attention over the past few days, providing a glimpse into the precarious situation of millions of refugees worldwide," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.

"Refugee protection today is often under threat and cannot always be assured, but in this instance, international refugee law and overriding values of humanity have prevailed."

Raif Badawi's wife Ensaf Haidar also praised Canada, calling Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Twitter "the real hero" behind efforts to prevent Qunun's repatriation to Saudi Arabia.

Qunun alleged that she was abused by her family -- who deny the allegations -- and rights groups also said she had renounced Islam, risking prosecution in Saudi Arabia.

Qunun first said she was aiming for Australia where officials had suggested they would give serious consideration to her claim for asylum, which was endorsed as legitimate by the UNHCR on Wednesday.

But late Friday Thailand's immigration police chief Surachate Hakparn said a smiling and cheerful Rahaf was bound for Toronto and had left on a flight after 11pm (1600 GMT).

"She chose Canada... Canada said it will accept her," Surachate told reporters at Bangkok's main airport.

"She is safe now and has good physical and mental health. She is happy."

Qunun left from the same airport where her quest for asylum began less than a week ago in a swift-moving process that defied most norms.

Death threats

On Friday afternoon Qunun posted a cryptic tweet on her profile saying "I have some good news and some bad news" -- shortly afterwards, her account was deactivated in response to death threats she had faced, her friends said.

But she was back online later in the day, tweeting: "I would like to thank you, people, for supporting me and saving my life. Truly I have never dreamed of this love and support."

Qunun's swift use of Twitter saw her amass more than tens of thousands of followers within a week, highlighting her plight at a time when Saudi Arabia's human rights record is under heavy scrutiny following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.

Her deployment of social media allowed her to avoid the fate of countless other refugees who are quietly sent back home or languish in Bangkok detention centers.

She refused to see her father, who travelled to Thailand and expressed opposition to her resettlement.

Surachate said her father and brother were due to return home on a flight in the early hours of Saturday.

Although her asylum case moved fast the final manoeuvres that led to her flight to Canada remain largely a mystery.&nbsp;

Australia had dropped strong hints it would accept her after the UN urged the country to do so and it remains unclear why the resettlement location changed.

On Thursday its foreign minister said Canberra was still assessing the request.

Thailand's immigration chief Surachate had earlier told reporters Friday that "two or three" countries were ready to offer her asylum.

The Southeast Asian country is not a signatory to a convention on refugees and asylum seekers must be referred to a third country.

The young Saudi woman who fled her family seeking asylum abroad is scheduled to land in Canada on Saturday after successfully harnessing the power of Twitter to stave off deportation from Thailand.

The young Saudi woman who fled her family seeking asylum abroad is scheduled to land in Canada on Saturday after successfully harnessing the power of Twitter to stave off deportation from Thailand. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, was already en route to Toronto late Friday when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would take her in. Trudeau's surprise announcement came after officials had heavily hinted that she was bound for Australia. "Canada has been unequivocal that we'll stand up for human rights and women's rights around the world," Trudeau said. "When the United Nations made a request of us that we grant al-Qunun's asylum, we accepted." The move is sure to further strain Canada's relations with the kingdom that went sideways last August over Ottawa's rights criticism of Saudi Arabia, prompting Riyadh to expel the Canadian ambassador and sever all trade and investment ties in protest. Canada also sparked fury in Riyadh by demanding the "immediate release" of jailed rights campaigners, including Samar Badawi, the sister of jailed blogger Raif Badawi, whose family lives in Quebec. Qunun's attempt to flee the ultra-conservative kingdom was embraced by rights groups as a beacon of defiance against repression. Thai authorities initially threatened to deport her after she arrived in Bangkok from Kuwait last weekend. But armed with a smartphone and hastily opened a Twitter account, she forced a U-turn from Thai immigration police who handed her into the care of the UN's refugee agency as the #SaveRahaf hashtag bounced across the world. 'Precarious situation' "Ms. al-Qunun's plight has captured the world's attention over the past few days, providing a glimpse into the precarious situation of millions of refugees worldwide," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said. "Refugee protection today is often under threat and cannot always be assured, but in this instance, international refugee law and overriding values of humanity have prevailed." Raif Badawi's wife Ensaf Haidar also praised Canada, calling Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Twitter "the real hero" behind efforts to prevent Qunun's repatriation to Saudi Arabia. Qunun alleged that she was abused by her family -- who deny the allegations -- and rights groups also said she had renounced Islam, risking prosecution in Saudi Arabia. Qunun first said she was aiming for Australia where officials had suggested they would give serious consideration to her claim for asylum, which was endorsed as legitimate by the UNHCR on Wednesday. But late Friday Thailand's immigration police chief Surachate Hakparn said a smiling and cheerful Rahaf was bound for Toronto and had left on a flight after 11pm (1600 GMT). "She chose Canada... Canada said it will accept her," Surachate told reporters at Bangkok's main airport. "She is safe now and has good physical and mental health. She is happy." Qunun left from the same airport where her quest for asylum began less than a week ago in a swift-moving process that defied most norms. Death threats On Friday afternoon Qunun posted a cryptic tweet on her profile saying "I have some good news and some bad news" -- shortly afterwards, her account was deactivated in response to death threats she had faced, her friends said. But she was back online later in the day, tweeting: "I would like to thank you, people, for supporting me and saving my life. Truly I have never dreamed of this love and support." Qunun's swift use of Twitter saw her amass more than tens of thousands of followers within a week, highlighting her plight at a time when Saudi Arabia's human rights record is under heavy scrutiny following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year. Her deployment of social media allowed her to avoid the fate of countless other refugees who are quietly sent back home or languish in Bangkok detention centers. She refused to see her father, who travelled to Thailand and expressed opposition to her resettlement. Surachate said her father and brother were due to return home on a flight in the early hours of Saturday. Although her asylum case moved fast the final manoeuvres that led to her flight to Canada remain largely a mystery. Australia had dropped strong hints it would accept her after the UN urged the country to do so and it remains unclear why the resettlement location changed. On Thursday its foreign minister said Canberra was still assessing the request. Thailand's immigration chief Surachate had earlier told reporters Friday that "two or three" countries were ready to offer her asylum. The Southeast Asian country is not a signatory to a convention on refugees and asylum seekers must be referred to a third country.

Saudi teen seeking asylum expected to land in Canada today

Police searched courtrooms in at least seven German cities on Friday after bomb threats and security alerts, with at least one emailed warning signed: "Nazi offensive", officials and media said.

Police said they temporarily evacuated or searched courts in the eastern city of Potsdam, the western cities of Wiesbaden and Saarbruecken, as well as in the central cities of Magdeburg and Erfurt and in the northern ports of Kiel and Hamburg.

German Justice Minister Katarina Barley condemned the bomb threats and a separate arson attack on the Federal Supreme Court in Leipzig on Dec. 31 which was reportedly claimed by a radical leftist group.

"Those who threaten courts attack the independent judiciary and our democratic society," Barley said.

She said it was imperative to investigate the cases carefully and hold the perpetrators accountable.

None of the searches conducted on Friday revealed any explosive devices, police and media reported.

However, the bomb threats caused disruption in the affected cities. Dozens of people were evacuated and court proceedings were interrupted as court buildings were searched and in most cases evacuated. Some adjacent streets were also closed temporarily.

Oliver Pohl, police spokesman in Kiel, said city officials received an emailed bomb threat late on Thursday that was signed with the words: "Nazi offensive."

He said there was no information thus far about the identity of the perpetrator, and authorities in affected cities were comparing notes. The court in Kiel had received a separate bomb threat in December, although that one was delivered via a public "comment" website, not an email, a spokesman said.

A spokesman for the force covering Wiesbaden said it was too early to say if there was a link between the various bomb threats. "The investigation just began," said Johannes Neumann.

A spokeswoman for Germany's Federal Criminal Police said it knew of the bomb threats solely through media reports and was not currently involved in any investigation.

The threats came after an attack in Leipzig on New Year's Eve, when tires were set aflame outside the federal court building and a wooden emergency door was set on fire. Local officials estimated over 100,000 euros in damages was causued.

Bild newspaper reported last week that a radical leftist group had claimed responsibility.

Police searched courtrooms in at least seven German cities on Friday after bomb threats and security alerts, with at least one emailed warning signed: "Nazi offensive", officials and media said.

Police searched courtrooms in at least seven German cities on Friday after bomb threats and security alerts, with at least one emailed warning signed: "Nazi offensive", officials and media said. Police said they temporarily evacuated or searched courts in the eastern city of Potsdam, the western cities of Wiesbaden and Saarbruecken, as well as in the central cities of Magdeburg and Erfurt and in the northern ports of Kiel and Hamburg. German Justice Minister Katarina Barley condemned the bomb threats and a separate arson attack on the Federal Supreme Court in Leipzig on Dec. 31 which was reportedly claimed by a radical leftist group. "Those who threaten courts attack the independent judiciary and our democratic society," Barley said. She said it was imperative to investigate the cases carefully and hold the perpetrators accountable. None of the searches conducted on Friday revealed any explosive devices, police and media reported. However, the bomb threats caused disruption in the affected cities. Dozens of people were evacuated and court proceedings were interrupted as court buildings were searched and in most cases evacuated. Some adjacent streets were also closed temporarily. Oliver Pohl, police spokesman in Kiel, said city officials received an emailed bomb threat late on Thursday that was signed with the words: "Nazi offensive." He said there was no information thus far about the identity of the perpetrator, and authorities in affected cities were comparing notes. The court in Kiel had received a separate bomb threat in December, although that one was delivered via a public "comment" website, not an email, a spokesman said. A spokesman for the force covering Wiesbaden said it was too early to say if there was a link between the various bomb threats. "The investigation just began," said Johannes Neumann. A spokeswoman for Germany's Federal Criminal Police said it knew of the bomb threats solely through media reports and was not currently involved in any investigation. The threats came after an attack in Leipzig on New Year's Eve, when tires were set aflame outside the federal court building and a wooden emergency door was set on fire. Local officials estimated over 100,000 euros in damages was causued. Bild newspaper reported last week that a radical leftist group had claimed responsibility.

Police evacuate at least six German courts after bomb threats

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