<p>Iran&#39;s new communications minister said&nbsp;Tuesday&nbsp;that negotiations were underway <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-suspended-377000-accounts-last-year-for-trying-to-promote-extremism-13642">with microblogging site Twitter to unblock the service</a>, which has been banned for years despite being used even by the country&#39;s supreme leader.</p>

<p>&quot;(Twitter) has announced that it is prepared to negotiate to resolve problems,&quot; Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi told the Iran daily newspaper.</p>

<p>&quot;Considering the current situation there are grounds for such negotiation and interaction. Twitter is not an immoral environment needing to be blocked,&quot; he added.</p>

<p>The 36-year-old Jahromi became Iran&#39;s youngest-ever minister this week, and the first to be born after the 1979 Islamic revolution.</p>

<p>His selection has been criticised by rights groups over his involvement in surveillance during and after the mass anti-regime protests of 2009.</p>

<p>But Jahromi is also seen as a critic of online censorship in Iran, where sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter remain banned even if millions use them daily through easily available privacy software.</p>

<p>There was no immediate response from Twitter to his comments.</p>

<p>He said officials were also looking at ways to unblock YouTube while still censoring &quot;immoral content&quot; on the site, and that a pilot project was being run, allowing universities to access the site.</p>

<p>Jahromi added that the final decision on unblocking Twitter did not lie with his ministry, but with the Supreme Council for Cyberspace, which includes members of the hardline judiciary.</p>

<p>Twitter was banned at the time of mass anti-regime protests in 2009, that followed allegations of massive rigging in the re-election of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.</p>

<p>But despite the ban, the US messaging service is widely used by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has official accounts in several languages, as well as President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.</p>

<p>Even Ahmadinejad joined the service this year.</p>

<p>Separately, Jahromi rejected allegations he was involved in interrogations during the 2009 protests.</p>

<p>&quot;I wasn&#39;t responsible for surveillance, I was in charge of the technical infrastructure for the surveillance industry, and I consider it an honour,&quot; he said in a meeting with lawmakers this week, according to the Shahrvand newspaper.</p>


Iran's new communications minister Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi said

Iran's new communications minister said Tuesday that negotiations were underway with microblogging site Twitter to unblock the service, which has been banned for years despite being used even by the country's supreme leader. "(Twitter) has announced that it is prepared to negotiate to resolve problems," Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi told the Iran daily newspaper. "Considering the current situation there are grounds for such negotiation and interaction. Twitter is not an immoral environment needing to be blocked," he added. The 36-year-old Jahromi became Iran's youngest-ever minister this week, and the first to be born after the 1979 Islamic revolution. His selection has been criticised by rights groups over his involvement in surveillance during and after the mass anti-regime protests of 2009. But Jahromi is also seen as a critic of online censorship in Iran, where sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter remain banned even if millions use them daily through easily available privacy software. There was no immediate response from Twitter to his comments. He said officials were also looking at ways to unblock YouTube while still censoring "immoral content" on the site, and that a pilot project was being run, allowing universities to access the site. Jahromi added that the final decision on unblocking Twitter did not lie with his ministry, but with the Supreme Council for Cyberspace, which includes members of the hardline judiciary. Twitter was banned at the time of mass anti-regime protests in 2009, that followed allegations of massive rigging in the re-election of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But despite the ban, the US messaging service is widely used by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has official accounts in several languages, as well as President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Even Ahmadinejad joined the service this year. Separately, Jahromi rejected allegations he was involved in interrogations during the 2009 protests. "I wasn't responsible for surveillance, I was in charge of the technical infrastructure for the surveillance industry, and I consider it an honour," he said in a meeting with lawmakers this week, according to the Shahrvand newspaper.

Twitter is not an immoral environment needing to be blocked, says Iran's communications minister

<p>Ileana D&rsquo;Cruz known for making a mark in the Indian cinema with films like Barfi and Rustom, took to Twitter to express her disappointment when a male fan misbehaved with her.</p>

<p>The actress appeals to her fans saying that she is an actress, a public figure but most importantly a woman and that she reserves the right to be respected.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This is what she tweeted:</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">It&#39;s a pretty shitty world we live in. I&#39;m a public figure. I understand that I don&#39;t have the luxury of a private &amp; an anonymous life.(1/2)</p>
&mdash; Ileana D&#39;Cruz (@Ileana_Official) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ileana_Official/status/899206980853792769">August 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">But that doesn&#39;t give any man the right to misbehave with me. Don&#39;t confuse &quot;fan antics&quot; with that. I am a WOMAN at the end of the day.(2/2)</p>
&mdash; Ileana D&#39;Cruz (@Ileana_Official) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ileana_Official/status/899207063875629056">August 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>The Indian actress is currently on a promotional spree for her upcoming film titled Baadshaho. The movie is a period action thriller, directed and&nbsp;co-produced by Milan Luthria. It stars actors&nbsp;Ajay Devgn, Ileana D&#39;Cruz, Emraan Hashmi, Vidyut Jammwal, Esha Gupta and Sanjay Mishra in the lead roles.The film is a thriller set in the emergency era of the 1970s.</p>

<p>(WION)</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


She is currently out to promote her upcoming movie Baadshaho

Ileana D’Cruz known for making a mark in the Indian cinema with films like Barfi and Rustom, took to Twitter to express her disappointment when a male fan misbehaved with her. The actress appeals to her fans saying that she is an actress, a public figure but most importantly a woman and that she reserves the right to be respected. This is what she tweeted: It's a pretty shitty world we live in. I'm a public figure. I understand that I don't have the luxury of a private & an anonymous life.(1/2) — Ileana D'Cruz (@Ileana_Official) August 20, 2017 × But that doesn't give any man the right to misbehave with me. Don't confuse "fan antics" with that. I am a WOMAN at the end of the day.(2/2) — Ileana D'Cruz (@Ileana_Official) August 20, 2017 × The Indian actress is currently on a promotional spree for her upcoming film titled Baadshaho. The movie is a period action thriller, directed and co-produced by Milan Luthria. It stars actors Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'Cruz, Emraan Hashmi, Vidyut Jammwal, Esha Gupta and Sanjay Mishra in the lead roles.The film is a thriller set in the emergency era of the 1970s. (WION)

Indian actress Ileana D?Cruz expresses disappointment after a male fan misbehaves with her

<p>Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden recently posted a picture wishing his Indian fans a Happy Independence Day in a unique way.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The former cricketer known for an aggressive style of batting took the effort of translating the Indian national anthem in its entirety and posted the English version for those might be interested in understanding what the song means.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Happy Independence Day India <a href="https://t.co/JK2PoAHt12">pic.twitter.com/JK2PoAHt12</a></p>
&mdash; Matthew Hayden AM (@HaydosTweets) <a href="https://twitter.com/HaydosTweets/status/897327777094934528">August 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Soon after he posted, fans took to the liking of the post and sent him heartwarming messages:</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jai Hind</p>
&mdash; S. MS Dhoni (@MSDsuperfan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSDsuperfan/status/897370532529659904">August 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Never saw English version of National Anthem before.! Thanks champion. ??</p>
&mdash; Ritik (@PareekRitik) <a href="https://twitter.com/PareekRitik/status/897332765951012864">August 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Lots of Love from INDIA.</p>
&mdash; Ashish Katiyar (@AshishKatiyar17) <a href="https://twitter.com/AshishKatiyar17/status/897332963733512194">August 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Translating India&#39;s national anthem capturing the depth of words is no easy task. Admire your love and deep insight. Congrats!</p>
&mdash; Jay Shah (@Jayshahca) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jayshahca/status/897803117172899842">August 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Wow. This tweet touched my heart. ??</p>
&mdash; MystiRoz (@MystiRoz) <a href="https://twitter.com/MystiRoz/status/897336197306961920">August 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>(WION)</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


He posted a word by word translation of 'Jana Gana Mana' on Twitter to wish Happy Independence Day to Indians

Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden recently posted a picture wishing his Indian fans a Happy Independence Day in a unique way. The former cricketer known for an aggressive style of batting took the effort of translating the Indian national anthem in its entirety and posted the English version for those might be interested in understanding what the song means. Happy Independence Day India pic.twitter.com/JK2PoAHt12 — Matthew Hayden AM (@HaydosTweets) August 15, 2017 × Soon after he posted, fans took to the liking of the post and sent him heartwarming messages: Jai Hind — S. MS Dhoni (@MSDsuperfan) August 15, 2017 × Never saw English version of National Anthem before.! Thanks champion. ?? — Ritik (@PareekRitik) August 15, 2017 × Lots of Love from INDIA. — Ashish Katiyar (@AshishKatiyar17) August 15, 2017 × Translating India's national anthem capturing the depth of words is no easy task. Admire your love and deep insight. Congrats! — Jay Shah (@Jayshahca) August 16, 2017 × Wow. This tweet touched my heart. ?? — MystiRoz (@MystiRoz) August 15, 2017 × (WION)

Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden tweets an English version of the Indian national anthem

<p>A group of Twitter users will be indicted in Saudi Arabia on charges of harming public order for threatening the &quot;safety and moderate ideology of society&quot; through extremism, according to a statement on state news agency SPA.</p>

<p>The country&#39;s chief prosecutor summoned the Twitter users on Sunday, the statement said, without naming them or specifying how many were accused.</p>

<p>A spokesman for the Ministry of Culture and Information had earlier tweeted that a radical Sunni cleric, Ali al-Rabieei, had been referred to a &quot;publication crimes&quot; committee for unspecified violations.</p>

<p>Ministry officials did not respond to requests for comment on whether Rabieei was among the group.</p>

<p>Saudi Arabia has stepped up efforts to muffle political dissent in recent years, using tough new cybercrime laws to sentence offenders to prison terms for online posts deemed insulting to rulers or threatening to public order.</p>

<p>In a separate statement, Public Prosecutor Sheikh Saud bin Abdullah al-Muajab said he respected freedom of opinion but asserted his office&#39;s power to pursue cases against those who promote hatred or sectarianism, or mislead public opinion.</p>

<p>Rabieei&#39;s tweets largely consist of broadsides against Shi&#39;ites, a minority group in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia. One tweet refers to the core Shi&#39;ite belief that the prophet&#39;s son-in-law was his rightful successor as &quot;one of the Jew&#39;s tricks.&quot;</p>

<p>He issued a statement on Twitter declaring his commitment to publication laws, &quot;if they are not contrary to the Quran, the Sunna, or statements made by senior scholars Bin Baz, Bin Uthaymin or the Council of Senior Scholars.&quot;</p>

<p>Religious scholars from the official Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam, like those named by Rabieei, hold influential semi-legal roles in the kingdom. The Quran and the Sunna, or sayings of the prophet, are the country&#39;s constitution.</p>

<p>Many members of the state-employed clergy have long taught that Shi&#39;ism is heretical. Last year, Saudi Arabia&#39;s grand mufti, the kingdom&#39;s top religious authority, said the leaders of Iran, Saudi Arabia&#39;s regional Shi&#39;ite rival, were not Muslims.</p>

<p>But as the kingdom&#39;s Shi&#39;ites have come under attack by Islamic State jihadists since 2013, authorities have also made efforts to curb open incitement and sectarianism, including arrests for anti-Shi&#39;ite social media posts.</p>


A group of Twitter users will be indicted in Saudi Arabia on charges of harming public order for threatening the 'safety and moderate ideology of society' through extremism

A group of Twitter users will be indicted in Saudi Arabia on charges of harming public order for threatening the "safety and moderate ideology of society" through extremism, according to a statement on state news agency SPA. The country's chief prosecutor summoned the Twitter users on Sunday, the statement said, without naming them or specifying how many were accused. A spokesman for the Ministry of Culture and Information had earlier tweeted that a radical Sunni cleric, Ali al-Rabieei, had been referred to a "publication crimes" committee for unspecified violations. Ministry officials did not respond to requests for comment on whether Rabieei was among the group. Saudi Arabia has stepped up efforts to muffle political dissent in recent years, using tough new cybercrime laws to sentence offenders to prison terms for online posts deemed insulting to rulers or threatening to public order. In a separate statement, Public Prosecutor Sheikh Saud bin Abdullah al-Muajab said he respected freedom of opinion but asserted his office's power to pursue cases against those who promote hatred or sectarianism, or mislead public opinion. Rabieei's tweets largely consist of broadsides against Shi'ites, a minority group in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia. One tweet refers to the core Shi'ite belief that the prophet's son-in-law was his rightful successor as "one of the Jew's tricks." He issued a statement on Twitter declaring his commitment to publication laws, "if they are not contrary to the Quran, the Sunna, or statements made by senior scholars Bin Baz, Bin Uthaymin or the Council of Senior Scholars." Religious scholars from the official Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam, like those named by Rabieei, hold influential semi-legal roles in the kingdom. The Quran and the Sunna, or sayings of the prophet, are the country's constitution. Many members of the state-employed clergy have long taught that Shi'ism is heretical. Last year, Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, the kingdom's top religious authority, said the leaders of Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional Shi'ite rival, were not Muslims. But as the kingdom's Shi'ites have come under attack by Islamic State jihadists since 2013, authorities have also made efforts to curb open incitement and sectarianism, including arrests for anti-Shi'ite social media posts.

Saudi Arabia to prosecute Twitter users for harming society's ideology

<p>Twitter shares tumbled in premarket trading on Thursday after the social media platform reported weaker-than-expected growth in monthly active users in the second quarter.</p>

<p>Amid fierce competition from Facebook and Snapchat, Twitter&#39;s average monthly active users (MAU) was 328 million in the three months through June 30. Analysts were expecting 328.8 million, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet.</p>

<p>In the first quarter, the company had reported that it added 9 million more monthly active users than expected.</p>

<p>&quot;What matters is MAU. Overall MAU were flat, and US MAU was down,&quot; said Michael Pachter, managing director at Wedbush Securities.</p>

<p>Monthly active users, a key performance indicator for social networking services, is typically calculated by tabulating the number of users who have logged in and logged out during the 30-day period.</p>

<p>Twitter&#39;s second-quarter net loss widened as it took a $55 million impairment charge and revenue fell 4.7 per cent.</p>

<p>The company has been trying to boost revenue through live streaming deals but suffered a setback in April when it lost a deal to live stream NFL games this year to Amazon.com.</p>

<p>Advertising revenue fell 8 per cent to $489 million but well exceeded the $458.1 million estimate.</p>

<p>The company&#39;s net loss widened to $116.5 million, or 16 cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, from $107.2 million, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier.</p>

<p>Excluding items, the company earned 8 cents per share.</p>

<p>Revenue fell about 4.7 per cent to $573.9 million, the second time it has fallen since Twitter&#39;s debut in 2013.</p>

<p>Shares of Twitter fell 8.4 per cent to $17.96 in premarket trading on Thursday, following a gain of 18 per cent in the past three months.</p>


The social media platform reported weaker-than-expected growth in monthly active users in the second quarter

Twitter shares tumbled in premarket trading on Thursday after the social media platform reported weaker-than-expected growth in monthly active users in the second quarter. Amid fierce competition from Facebook and Snapchat, Twitter's average monthly active users (MAU) was 328 million in the three months through June 30. Analysts were expecting 328.8 million, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet. In the first quarter, the company had reported that it added 9 million more monthly active users than expected. "What matters is MAU. Overall MAU were flat, and US MAU was down," said Michael Pachter, managing director at Wedbush Securities. Monthly active users, a key performance indicator for social networking services, is typically calculated by tabulating the number of users who have logged in and logged out during the 30-day period. Twitter's second-quarter net loss widened as it took a $55 million impairment charge and revenue fell 4.7 per cent. The company has been trying to boost revenue through live streaming deals but suffered a setback in April when it lost a deal to live stream NFL games this year to Amazon.com. Advertising revenue fell 8 per cent to $489 million but well exceeded the $458.1 million estimate. The company's net loss widened to $116.5 million, or 16 cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, from $107.2 million, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned 8 cents per share. Revenue fell about 4.7 per cent to $573.9 million, the second time it has fallen since Twitter's debut in 2013. Shares of Twitter fell 8.4 per cent to $17.96 in premarket trading on Thursday, following a gain of 18 per cent in the past three months.

Twitter shares tumble as flat user growth disappoints investors

<p>On July 4, Eren Aksoyoglu, a member of the Turkish Joint June Movement opposition bloc, was taken into custody for a tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=eren_aksoyoglu%20demetevler&amp;src=typd">criticising the government&rsquo;s handling of a racially-motivated brawl in Ankara</a>. Less than two weeks later, Turkish police issued a warrant for film director Mustafa Altioklar for tweeting dismissively about the commemorations of the July 15, 2016, failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Detention order for director Mustafa Altioklar due to social media postings on anniversary of July 15 coup attempt <a href="https://t.co/nAd0wmQlL0">https://t.co/nAd0wmQlL0</a> <a href="https://t.co/CPwEizG6R2">pic.twitter.com/CPwEizG6R2</a></p>
&mdash; bianet English (@bianet_eng) <a href="https://twitter.com/bianet_eng/status/887157735757946880">18 July 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Previously, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38508315" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">fashion designer Barbaros Sansal was briefly jailed</a> for &ldquo;inciting hatred&rdquo; after tweeting a video. Social media screenshots are routinely used as &ldquo;evidence&rdquo; in lawsuits against Kurdish journalists, such as Ali Baris Kurt, who was <a href="http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/684644/Gazeteci_Ali_Baris_Kurt_un_hapis_cezasi_kesinlesti.html" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">sentenced recently to 28 months in prison</a>.</p>

<p>Twitter has become a scary place for Turkish users, landing many who disagree with the current government straight in jail. Although frequent bans by the Erdogan government have failed to keep residents off the platform, the intimidation is getting more serious.</p>

<p>Since the coup attempt one year ago, which was blamed on one-time Erdogan ally, cleric Fetullah G&uuml;len, <a href="http://aa.com.tr/tr/15-temmuz-darbe-girisimi/provokatif-sosyal-medya-hesaplarina-karsi-ihbar-uyarisi/610539">Turkish police have started encouraging internet users to inform on others</a>. In December 2016, Aksam, a newspaper owned by Ethem Sancak, a functionary in Erdogan&rsquo;s Justice and Development Party (AKP), announced hotline apps and accounts launched by the police.</p>

<p>The app urged users to &ldquo;<a href="http://www.aksam.com.tr/guncel/emniyet-genel-mudurlugunden-bir-uyari-daha/haber-575591">Click the link to report a Twitter user to the police now&rdquo;</a>&ldquo;. Since then, thousands of Twitter users critical of the government have been reported to the police&rsquo;s @EmniyetGM Twitter account.</p>

<p>According to the independent news website Diken, as of July 2017 seven people, a day is taken into custody <a href="http://www.diken.com.tr/gunde-ortalama-yedi-kisi-sosyal-medya-paylasimlarindan-gozaltina-aliniyor/">because of the content they share on social media</a>. Small-scale data collection that I carried out for this article using the <a href="https://www.google.fr/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=6&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjD1Ynwo5jVAhVD7BQKHZ68BfwQFgg6MAU&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2FJefferson-Henrique%2FGetOldTweets-java&amp;usg=AFQjCNHkLzVmW0kJHUz1cov58LJM-zRd0A">GetOldTweets</a> software returned more than 3,500 tweets reporting a user to the police.</p>

<figure class="align-center "><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/179010/width754/file-20170720-12306-q42hkf.png" />
<figcaption>
<p><span class="caption">Screenshot of the police call</span></p>

<p>Turkey leads Twitter comfortably in all categories of removal requests, according to Twitter&rsquo;s <a href="https://transparency.twitter.com/en/removal-requests.html" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Transparency Report</a>. Most alarming are court-ordered requests, in which Turkey outnumbers its closest competitor, Brazil, by 811 instances &ndash; at 844 to 33.</p>
</figcaption>
</figure>

<p>While the Turkish government has previously tried to <a href="https://yadi.sk/i/OwWbL9zA3LEoe4">censor tweets through court orders</a>, calling for denunciation by citizens is new and chilling.</p>

<p><strong>Censorship of traditional media</strong></p>

<p>It&rsquo;s difficult to imagine these days that Twitter was once a thriving place for free expression in Turkey. For many Turkish speakers, Twitter is a &quot;grey market&rdquo; news source, able to fill in the blanks left by mainstream media.</p>

<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<p><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/179553/area14mp/file-20170725-6656-1vqsuf4.jpeg"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/179553/width237/file-20170725-6656-1vqsuf4.jpeg" /></a></p>

<p><span class="caption">&lsquo;General directorate of security warns citizens &#39;You may report social media profiles and pages supporting terrorist activities along with their links and screenshots to the e-mail addresses below.&rsquo;</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Directorate General of Press and Information Turkish Government</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></p>
</figure>

<p><a href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/essays/2015/how-turkey-uses-social-media/">Around 6.5 million Turks</a> are estimated to use Twitter, according to 2015 data. Though this number pales in comparison to 46 million Turkish Facebook users, Twitter has proved its worth repeatedly as a news source and political communication tool.</p>

<p>Twitter&rsquo;s rise started after the 2010 constitutional referendum when Erdogan&rsquo;s AKP, together with then-allies G&uuml;lenists, eliminated its secular rivals in the civil-military bureaucracy. By the following year, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/pictures/eeei45egh/recep-Erdo%C4%9Fan/#33bc3f82931c">Erdogan was instructing mainstream media bosses on how to cover &ldquo;news on terror&rdquo;</a>, his term for clashes between the Turkish army and Kurdish guerrillas.</p>

<p>In December 2011, the Turkish air force <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-16352388">killed 34 Kurdish civilians near the Iraqi border</a>. But the news was not covered by mainstream media until the next day when the Turkish general staff claimed responsibility for the airstrike.</p>

<figure><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9L3O-s75ly4?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440"></iframe></figure>

<p>Meanwhile, tweeting under the hashtag <a href="http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/26032014">#twitterkurds</a>, Kurdish sources released the details of the killings and managed to push the incident into public view. The incident became one of the first examples of &ldquo;not covering the news until the government says so&rdquo;.</p>

<p><strong>A voice for the silenced ones</strong></p>

<p>Soon, other silenced groups, such as leftists, environmentalists, and even <a href="http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0440">Kemalists</a> started to use Twitter. In June 2013, Turkish Twitter made a giant leap with the Gezi Protests, which began as an environmentalist action in Istanbul and turned into a millions-strong movement.</p>

<figure class="align-center "><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/179241/width754/file-20170721-28478-18zu7yv.jpg" />
<figcaption>
<p><span class="caption">The June 2013 Taksim Gezi Park protests were boosted by the use of Twitter and other social networks.</span></p>

<p>As it became apparent that mainstream media would not cover the protests and the associated police violence, the number of users and tweets sent from Turkey quadrupled, <a href="https://zete.com/20-gunde-224-milyon-tweet-atildi/">reaching 25 million and 2.5 million users by June 1</a>. For his part, Erdogan, <a href="http://t24.com.tr/haber/Erdo%C4%9Fan-twitterda-hakara-makara-yapiyorlar,191133">who had previously dismissed Twitter as &ldquo;chit chat&rdquo;</a>, announced that <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/788yjy/turkish-prime-minister-characterizes-twitter-as-menace-to-society">it was the &ldquo;worst menace to society&rdquo;</a>.</p>
</figcaption>
</figure>

<p>To counter anti-government tweets, he <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/turkeys-government-forms-6000member-social-media-team-1379351399?tesla=y%22%22">hired thousands of pro-AKP Twitter users</a>, but to no avail. Erdogan&rsquo;s base was still most present on Facebook, while Twitter attracted young, urban, secular users (in part because its platform was not available in the Turkish language until 2011).</p>

<p><strong>Twitter as Erdogan&rsquo;s enemy</strong></p>

<p>By the 2014 local elections, Erdogan, himself under investigation for alleged corruption after accusations by G&uuml;lenists and others, vowed to &ldquo;<a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/03/20/292095106/turkeys-recep-Erdo%C4%9Fan-well-eradicate-twitter">eradicate Twitter</a>&rdquo;. <a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-blocks-twitter-after-Erdo%C4%9Fan-vowed-eradication.aspx?pageID=238&amp;nID=63884&amp;NewsCatID=338">The first block to Twitter came almost simultaneously</a>.</p>

<p>Since then, <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=from%3Aturkeyblocks%20twitter%20confirmed&amp;src=typd">Twitter has been so frequently blocked</a> by the regime&rsquo;s telecom authority that Turks have come to expect a blackout after almost every event that could generate anti-government feeling: bombings, disasters, scandals.</p>

<figure class="align-left "><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/179239/width237/file-20170721-28515-1fq5buu.png" />
<figcaption>
<p><span class="caption">Turkey tries to turn off Twitter, after Fran&ccedil;ois-L&eacute;on Benouville, 2014.</span></p>

<p>Pressure increased again following the 2016 coup attempt. Since Erdogan became president in 2014 after 11 years as prime minister, Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code has often been used to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/02/turkeys-justice-minister-defends-allowing-1845-insult-cases-to-go-ahead" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">stifle dissent</a>. After the attempted coup, this statute, which forbids insulting the president, has been coupled with terror charges. The result is often a serious prison sentence.</p>
</figcaption>
</figure>

<p><a href="https://www.dailydot.com/news/turkey-twitter-gezi-akp-propaganda">Since the Gezi Park protests</a>, the AKP has cultivated a band of so-called &ldquo;AK Trolls,&rdquo; who have caused <a href="http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/tr/contents/articles/originals/2015/09/turkey-elections-akp-mulls-dumping-social-media-trolls.html">discomfort even within the party</a>. And many are still around.</p>

<p>They continue to amplify hashtag campaigns in support of the government and contribute to the complaints against individual Twitter users. Their presence, combined with the AKP&rsquo;s zealous chase of online opponents for &ldquo;terrorism&rdquo; punishment, has made Turkish Twitter a truly dangerous place.</p>

<p><img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/81222/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1" />On the Internet, <a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/on-the-internet-nobody-knows-youre-a-dog">the saying goes</a>, nobody knows you are a dog. But in today&rsquo;s Turkey, where journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders and academics can be declared terrorists arbitrarily, you may still find yourself chained.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/turkeys-twitter-crackdown-ratchets-up-as-state-says-click-now-to-report-a-user-to-the-police-81222">original article</a>.</p>


?Click now to report a user to the police!? Turkish police introduce new app to encourage people to inform on those criticising Erdogan.

On July 4, Eren Aksoyoglu, a member of the Turkish Joint June Movement opposition bloc, was taken into custody for a tweet criticising the government’s handling of a racially-motivated brawl in Ankara. Less than two weeks later, Turkish police issued a warrant for film director Mustafa Altioklar for tweeting dismissively about the commemorations of the July 15, 2016, failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Detention order for director Mustafa Altioklar due to social media postings on anniversary of July 15 coup attempt https://t.co/nAd0wmQlL0 pic.twitter.com/CPwEizG6R2 — bianet English (@bianet_eng) 18 July 2017 × Previously, fashion designer Barbaros Sansal was briefly jailed for “inciting hatred” after tweeting a video. Social media screenshots are routinely used as “evidence” in lawsuits against Kurdish journalists, such as Ali Baris Kurt, who was sentenced recently to 28 months in prison. Twitter has become a scary place for Turkish users, landing many who disagree with the current government straight in jail. Although frequent bans by the Erdogan government have failed to keep residents off the platform, the intimidation is getting more serious. Since the coup attempt one year ago, which was blamed on one-time Erdogan ally, cleric Fetullah Gülen, Turkish police have started encouraging internet users to inform on others. In December 2016, Aksam, a newspaper owned by Ethem Sancak, a functionary in Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), announced hotline apps and accounts launched by the police. The app urged users to “Click the link to report a Twitter user to the police now”“. Since then, thousands of Twitter users critical of the government have been reported to the police’s @EmniyetGM Twitter account. According to the independent news website Diken, as of July 2017 seven people, a day is taken into custody because of the content they share on social media. Small-scale data collection that I carried out for this article using the GetOldTweets software returned more than 3,500 tweets reporting a user to the police. Screenshot of the police call Turkey leads Twitter comfortably in all categories of removal requests, according to Twitter’s Transparency Report. Most alarming are court-ordered requests, in which Turkey outnumbers its closest competitor, Brazil, by 811 instances – at 844 to 33. While the Turkish government has previously tried to censor tweets through court orders, calling for denunciation by citizens is new and chilling. Censorship of traditional media It’s difficult to imagine these days that Twitter was once a thriving place for free expression in Turkey. For many Turkish speakers, Twitter is a "grey market” news source, able to fill in the blanks left by mainstream media. ‘General directorate of security warns citizens 'You may report social media profiles and pages supporting terrorist activities along with their links and screenshots to the e-mail addresses below.’ Directorate General of Press and Information Turkish Government, Author provided Around 6.5 million Turks are estimated to use Twitter, according to 2015 data. Though this number pales in comparison to 46 million Turkish Facebook users, Twitter has proved its worth repeatedly as a news source and political communication tool. Twitter’s rise started after the 2010 constitutional referendum when Erdogan’s AKP, together with then-allies Gülenists, eliminated its secular rivals in the civil-military bureaucracy. By the following year, Erdogan was instructing mainstream media bosses on how to cover “news on terror”, his term for clashes between the Turkish army and Kurdish guerrillas. In December 2011, the Turkish air force killed 34 Kurdish civilians near the Iraqi border. But the news was not covered by mainstream media until the next day when the Turkish general staff claimed responsibility for the airstrike. Meanwhile, tweeting under the hashtag #twitterkurds, Kurdish sources released the details of the killings and managed to push the incident into public view. The incident became one of the first examples of “not covering the news until the government says so”. A voice for the silenced ones Soon, other silenced groups, such as leftists, environmentalists, and even Kemalists started to use Twitter. In June 2013, Turkish Twitter made a giant leap with the Gezi Protests, which began as an environmentalist action in Istanbul and turned into a millions-strong movement. The June 2013 Taksim Gezi Park protests were boosted by the use of Twitter and other social networks. As it became apparent that mainstream media would not cover the protests and the associated police violence, the number of users and tweets sent from Turkey quadrupled, reaching 25 million and 2.5 million users by June 1. For his part, Erdogan, who had previously dismissed Twitter as “chit chat”, announced that it was the “worst menace to society”. To counter anti-government tweets, he hired thousands of pro-AKP Twitter users, but to no avail. Erdogan’s base was still most present on Facebook, while Twitter attracted young, urban, secular users (in part because its platform was not available in the Turkish language until 2011). Twitter as Erdogan’s enemy By the 2014 local elections, Erdogan, himself under investigation for alleged corruption after accusations by Gülenists and others, vowed to “eradicate Twitter”. The first block to Twitter came almost simultaneously. Since then, Twitter has been so frequently blocked by the regime’s telecom authority that Turks have come to expect a blackout after almost every event that could generate anti-government feeling: bombings, disasters, scandals. Turkey tries to turn off Twitter, after François-Léon Benouville, 2014. Pressure increased again following the 2016 coup attempt. Since Erdogan became president in 2014 after 11 years as prime minister, Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code has often been used to stifle dissent. After the attempted coup, this statute, which forbids insulting the president, has been coupled with terror charges. The result is often a serious prison sentence. Since the Gezi Park protests, the AKP has cultivated a band of so-called “AK Trolls,” who have caused discomfort even within the party. And many are still around. They continue to amplify hashtag campaigns in support of the government and contribute to the complaints against individual Twitter users. Their presence, combined with the AKP’s zealous chase of online opponents for “terrorism” punishment, has made Turkish Twitter a truly dangerous place. On the Internet, the saying goes, nobody knows you are a dog. But in today’s Turkey, where journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders and academics can be declared terrorists arbitrarily, you may still find yourself chained. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Twitter has become a scary place for Turks who critique Erdogan

<p>Twitter heads toward its quarterly earnings report on Thursday with a stock that has risen more than 40 per cent since April when much of Wall Street was ready to write off the tech company.</p>

<p>The company&#39;s share price popped after its most recent earnings report in April when Twitter disclosed better-than-expected user growth.</p>

<p>The number of people on Twitter will be in sharp focus on Thursday when investors and analysts will see if it has kept up the 6 per cent year-over-year growth in monthly active users it reported in April. Twitter said then that it had 328 million users.</p>

<p>&quot;For a company that people thought six months ago was knocking on death&#39;s door and going the way of Myspace and AOL, the double-digit rebound and the continued acceleration in users has really surprised investors,&quot; BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield said.</p>

<p>Twitter shares closed on Tuesday at $19.97, nearly flat on the day but up 41.4 per cent since its stock hit an intraday low of $14.12 on April 17.</p>

<p>The S&amp;P 500 information technology index is up 10.6 per cent since its April 17 closing price.</p>

<p>The surge of interest is a morale boost for Twitter, which has limped through past earnings announcements, struggled to keep a stable management and suffered unfavorable comparisons to its bigger and more profitable competitor Facebook.<br />
This month, Twitter had a streak of 12 days when its shares closed up.</p>

<p>The business is expected to report quarterly revenue of $536.6 million, according to a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S forecast average. That would be a drop of 10.9 per cent from $602 million a year earlier.</p>

<p>What has investors upbeat, though, is the number of people on the service, which public figures including US President Donald Trump use to blast out 140-character messages.</p>

<p>&quot;People are willing to give them the benefit of the doubt if they start to grow again,&quot; Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.</p>

<p>Other positive signs cited by analysts include co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey purchasing additional shares and co-founder Biz Stone announcing in May his return to Twitter. Ex-banker Ned Segal starts next month as Twitter&#39;s next chief financial officer.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, advertisers and investors have gotten used to Twitter existing as a niche platform, Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser said. &quot;There&#39;s nothing wrong with that,&quot; he said.</p>


The company's stock has risen more than 40 per cent since April when much of Wall Street was ready to write it off

Twitter heads toward its quarterly earnings report on Thursday with a stock that has risen more than 40 per cent since April when much of Wall Street was ready to write off the tech company. The company's share price popped after its most recent earnings report in April when Twitter disclosed better-than-expected user growth. The number of people on Twitter will be in sharp focus on Thursday when investors and analysts will see if it has kept up the 6 per cent year-over-year growth in monthly active users it reported in April. Twitter said then that it had 328 million users. "For a company that people thought six months ago was knocking on death's door and going the way of Myspace and AOL, the double-digit rebound and the continued acceleration in users has really surprised investors," BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield said. Twitter shares closed on Tuesday at $19.97, nearly flat on the day but up 41.4 per cent since its stock hit an intraday low of $14.12 on April 17. The S&P 500 information technology index is up 10.6 per cent since its April 17 closing price. The surge of interest is a morale boost for Twitter, which has limped through past earnings announcements, struggled to keep a stable management and suffered unfavorable comparisons to its bigger and more profitable competitor Facebook. This month, Twitter had a streak of 12 days when its shares closed up. The business is expected to report quarterly revenue of $536.6 million, according to a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S forecast average. That would be a drop of 10.9 per cent from $602 million a year earlier. What has investors upbeat, though, is the number of people on the service, which public figures including US President Donald Trump use to blast out 140-character messages. "People are willing to give them the benefit of the doubt if they start to grow again," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said. Other positive signs cited by analysts include co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey purchasing additional shares and co-founder Biz Stone announcing in May his return to Twitter. Ex-banker Ned Segal starts next month as Twitter's next chief financial officer. Meanwhile, advertisers and investors have gotten used to Twitter existing as a niche platform, Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser said. "There's nothing wrong with that," he said.

Twitter no longer at 'death's door' as earnings report approaches

<p>It first happened in 2009, again&nbsp;in 2012 and then it repeated itself in 2016. Three times in a span of seven years, Shah Rukh Khan, the Indian films actor was detained at the US airport and no form of wealth, success or fame could help him evade this situation.</p>

<p>Have you ever wondered what went wrong with a man who has achieved globally acknowledged stardom? Do you buy into the logic of it just being plain and regular protocol? &nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I fully understand &amp; respect security with the way the world is, but to be detained at US immigration every damn time really really sucks.</p>
&mdash; Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamsrk/status/763894690093473793">August 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p><br />
&nbsp;Well, what happened to Shah Rukh Khan was not just an unfortunate incident but also a part of a larger mesh of issues concerning privacy, security and safety, both online and offline. It is the outcome of surveillance in the digital age where data points &nbsp;are fed to&nbsp;the system, while grossly ignoring everything about the personality and character of an individual. &nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
In Khan&rsquo;s case, every other factor of him being a superstar, who travels in a business class, is loved by people all around the world was superseded by the data points that matched to someone who has a criminal history or can trigger false alarms. The data points that were picked up were: male, Muslim name, Indian, and from a certain age.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>Imagine Brad Pitt coming to India and being taken aside as a potential terrorist. This is how dangerous our world is today.</h5>
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<p>Now imagine Brad Pitt coming to India and being taken aside as a potential terrorist. This is how dangerous our world is today. The image that these systems have of us is warped and is just based on these data points that are monitored by intelligence agencies. According to this, all of us can fall into one category or another and be framed for something we have not committed.</p>

<p><strong>The Constant Gaze</strong><br />
&nbsp;<br />
Anja Kovacs who directs The Internet Democracy Project in India focuses on the Internet and human rights issues. The movement discusses the interplay of issues that most of us choose to ignore, of a state of constant surveillance, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/data-privacy-in-modern-day-context-11906">data privacy issues&nbsp;</a>and government control of access and usage of the Internet.</p>

<p>She says, &quot;India is not an exceptional situation but because it&rsquo;s a diverse country--contradictions and inequalities are visible here. Challenges are more in your face here. Context is more visible.&quot;&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
In this context, she talks about how surveillance functions. She says, &ldquo;The way it actually works is that somebody is watching you but what it essentially aims to do, is to police norms. Those who set these norms are often the ones who are watching and they decide how those who are being watched should behave. The thing about norms is that people say that if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear but all of this would be on the wrong side of the norm at some point. In the case of Shahrukh Khan, the information about him was denuded in such a way that the data points that did show up flagged him as a potential threat, even if he had not done anything.&rdquo;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Discussing the nitty-gritty and compulsions of living in the digital age, we came to the conclusion that surveillance is more rampant now as more cameras are being put in place everywhere and more number of companies are tracking us online--and that makes us all very uncomfortable.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
What&rsquo;s dangerous for a democracy to sustain, is that the government has access to all our data and whether they have a good reason or not, they continue to watch us.</p>

<p><strong>Game of Algorithms</strong><br />
&nbsp;<br />
Anja adds, &ldquo;They won&rsquo;t go and check what I am talking about but if I talk about terrorism too often, and I am connected to other people who are talking about terrorism then at some point they might start looking into my profile. For example, there has been a case in New York where a family found the US government joint terrorism task force at its doorstep because they had been googling the phrases &#39;pressure cooker bomb&#39; and &#39;backpack&#39;. The law enforcement agencies picked up on a white middle-class American family of parents and one small kid for googling those phrases. For the agencies, this flashed as an indication that they were likely to be making a bomb. Imagine the US police force wearing black suits entering a private property only to find nothing.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&ldquo;This happens in a corporate scenario as well but the consequences aren&rsquo;t the same. Facebook cannot throw you in jail but they along with other corporations are trying to shape your behaviour in insidious ways, to try and get us to do certain things. That&#39;s why at one point last year; Facebook had announced that they are tweaking their algorithms, as people are not sharing enough personal updates. We don&#39;t know whether they were successful in getting people to share but we do know that Facebook wanted people to share more, as they wanted to do something.</p>

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<p>&nbsp;&ldquo;It&#39;s dangerous to see what they can do with the algorithms, like how they use it to drive political campaigns during elections and move towards targeted campaigns. In America for example, in this year&rsquo;s elections, if we were seen as potential Trump supporters and possible voters, the messages we would get would be different because our profiles are different, unlike the earlier times when potential voters of a single party would receive same messaging.&rdquo;</p>

<h3>Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/edge/humour-to-the-rescue-memes-flood-internet-post-us-election-8595">Humour to the rescue: Memes flood Internet post-US election</a><br />
&nbsp;</h3>

<p>But not all is negative in this forever connected world. Surveillance vests power in the watcher and using this, the dynamics can change with different actors at play. She narrates how some slum colonies in Delhi where riots happened used surveillance as a tool for their benefit. The community itself bought CCTV cameras because they got fed up with the police arresting boys from the neighbourhood and blaming them for riots while according to the locals, the actual violence was committed by people outside of the community. She says, &ldquo;They wanted to be in a situation where they can provide proof in future instances, so they reversed the gaze.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>

<p>While surveillance continues at every level, be it in the workplace or public spaces; the kind that government indulges in online, is always riskier. The government of any country has the right to keep a check but it &ldquo;ideally should happen only after the State has a suspicion on a person of a crime or any such affiliation&rdquo;. In earlier times, the system didn&rsquo;t necessarily work but &ldquo;at least in theory there were some checks and balances that didn&rsquo;t give enormous power to those doing the watching&rdquo;.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Anja adds, &ldquo;It means that as a society we have less and less control over setting the norms because somebody has set the norm and if we behave out of it, we will be penalised. We are not only just expecting it to happen but are more conscious and aware of our surroundings--how to behave in public spaces, what to say on social media, what data to pull out and etc.&rdquo;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p><strong>How Open is the Internet?</strong><br />
&nbsp;<br />
A part of a movement that aims to make the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/curb-on-online-speech-threat-to-open-internet-says-international-report-892">&nbsp;Internet free and a democratic space for all</a>, Anja explains that there is also something called nudging in public policy. Facebook also does nudging through tweaks to the algorithms so that they can incentivise you to do particular things.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Similarly, the Planning Commission of India, Niti Aayog also has a nudging unit now. She says, &ldquo;What they want to do is to use data of popular government schemes and tweak them slightly so that more&nbsp;people can benefit from the policies. So nudging can be used for positive means as well but you can easily use it for negative purposes.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&quot;There is no idea of what is being done with our data and who keeps a check. So it&rsquo;s not just the traditional form of surveillance where they are watching people to catch them when they do something wrong but it&rsquo;s really also about the insidious ways in which they are shaping the society, shaping people to do stuff without them knowing. As citizens, that&rsquo;s a problem.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
While surveillance is an issue that needs urgent attention and scope for active and open discussions, there is also a big question around how open the Internet really is?<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Anja simply answers that it depends on ways on how you use the Internet. She says, &ldquo;There are still some ways of using the Internet that is much more decentralised where you have more control on your data but it&rsquo;s a little bit more complex. There&rsquo;s a reason why so many of us ended up on platforms like Facebook and Twitter as they made sharing of content so easy. But it&rsquo;s true that there has been a shift to more and more centralisation on the Internet even though the technology remains decentralised.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
She emphasises on focusing on how these big companies are trying to escape regulations everywhere and how they are able to become so big without anybody questioning them. She adds, &ldquo;Even Microsoft was put into antitrust regulations in the late 90&rsquo;s because they had bundled Explorer in every system. Explorer is still installed in every Windows system but we now have the choice of using or not using it. Managing a very strong presence in browsers they had left users with no option. People complained that Microsoft was forcing them to use their own ecosystems in too many ways. The reason&nbsp;as to why many use Firefox or Chrome&nbsp;instead of Explorer is as a result of that.&rdquo;</p>

<p><strong>Cyber Security&nbsp;</strong><br />
&nbsp;<br />
When online we are usually privy to the eyes of many, even after checks and balances have been put in place. This concern gives fodder to cyber security, a term that is often used when talking about online safety for the weak and vulnerable.</p>

<h3>Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/edge/are-we-going-to-lose-our-jobs-to-robots-11850">Are we going to lose our jobs to robots?</a></h3>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Anja, however, is not pleased with the existing discourse on cyber security. She says, &ldquo;The way it is present now--don&rsquo;t do this, don&rsquo;t do that is not helpful and it starts to become more like what we see in the offline space. Don&rsquo;t wear this when you are out, don&rsquo;t be out in the night etc., whereas if we want to make the Internet a safe place this is not the right approach. It&rsquo;s good to be conscious of what you are sharing, who you are sharing it with. You have to be smart. But there is no one-size-fits-all approach and currently, that is what it sounds like. We have to learn basics of risk assessment, to think about what are the threats in my life, actors that I should be worried about.</p>

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<p>National Cyber Security Policy 2013 (Source: Internet Democracy Project) (WION)</p>
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<p>&nbsp;&ldquo;We have seen in many accounts that parents are complaining about how their children have no sense of privacy and they also complain about children not sharing enough with them. So, clearly the children have a sense of privacy but who they see as threat actors while who their parents think are threat actors are completely different. As children, they see their parents as threat actors and stop sharing information with them. Parents think random strangers are threat actors.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
This also emboldens the fact that people must understand the consequences of what they do online and take informed decisions. Lurking dangers of the new-age technology are glaring and it is upon us to make informed choices, to completely avoid or at least diminish the loss value attached to any attack via the Internet.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Starting in 2011, The Internet Democracy Project has been focusing on the Internet and human rights issues. Their focus is on bringing together the domain of technology with ideas of democracy and social justice. However, in a world where authoritarian tendencies trump democratic values and promises of social justice are yet to be realised, it is a still a long road before misuses&nbsp;of technology can be stopped by brining in more accountability in the surveillance system.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;(WION)</p>


We need to find out who decides who is watching whom in online surveillance and what they are doing with all the data collected?

It first happened in 2009, again in 2012 and then it repeated itself in 2016. Three times in a span of seven years, Shah Rukh Khan, the Indian films actor was detained at the US airport and no form of wealth, success or fame could help him evade this situation. Have you ever wondered what went wrong with a man who has achieved globally acknowledged stardom? Do you buy into the logic of it just being plain and regular protocol? I fully understand & respect security with the way the world is, but to be detained at US immigration every damn time really really sucks. — Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) August 12, 2016 × Well, what happened to Shah Rukh Khan was not just an unfortunate incident but also a part of a larger mesh of issues concerning privacy, security and safety, both online and offline. It is the outcome of surveillance in the digital age where data points are fed to the system, while grossly ignoring everything about the personality and character of an individual. In Khan’s case, every other factor of him being a superstar, who travels in a business class, is loved by people all around the world was superseded by the data points that matched to someone who has a criminal history or can trigger false alarms. The data points that were picked up were: male, Muslim name, Indian, and from a certain age. Imagine Brad Pitt coming to India and being taken aside as a potential terrorist. This is how dangerous our world is today. × Now imagine Brad Pitt coming to India and being taken aside as a potential terrorist. This is how dangerous our world is today. The image that these systems have of us is warped and is just based on these data points that are monitored by intelligence agencies. According to this, all of us can fall into one category or another and be framed for something we have not committed. The Constant Gaze Anja Kovacs who directs The Internet Democracy Project in India focuses on the Internet and human rights issues. The movement discusses the interplay of issues that most of us choose to ignore, of a state of constant surveillance, data privacy issues and government control of access and usage of the Internet. She says, "India is not an exceptional situation but because it’s a diverse country--contradictions and inequalities are visible here. Challenges are more in your face here. Context is more visible." In this context, she talks about how surveillance functions. She says, “The way it actually works is that somebody is watching you but what it essentially aims to do, is to police norms. Those who set these norms are often the ones who are watching and they decide how those who are being watched should behave. The thing about norms is that people say that if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear but all of this would be on the wrong side of the norm at some point. In the case of Shahrukh Khan, the information about him was denuded in such a way that the data points that did show up flagged him as a potential threat, even if he had not done anything.” It's not just about someone watching you but policing norms. Those who set these norms are the ones watching and they decide how those who are being watched should behave. × Discussing the nitty-gritty and compulsions of living in the digital age, we came to the conclusion that surveillance is more rampant now as more cameras are being put in place everywhere and more number of companies are tracking us online--and that makes us all very uncomfortable. What’s dangerous for a democracy to sustain, is that the government has access to all our data and whether they have a good reason or not, they continue to watch us. Game of Algorithms Anja adds, “They won’t go and check what I am talking about but if I talk about terrorism too often, and I am connected to other people who are talking about terrorism then at some point they might start looking into my profile. For example, there has been a case in New York where a family found the US government joint terrorism task force at its doorstep because they had been googling the phrases 'pressure cooker bomb' and 'backpack'. The law enforcement agencies picked up on a white middle-class American family of parents and one small kid for googling those phrases. For the agencies, this flashed as an indication that they were likely to be making a bomb. Imagine the US police force wearing black suits entering a private property only to find nothing. “This happens in a corporate scenario as well but the consequences aren’t the same. Facebook cannot throw you in jail but they along with other corporations are trying to shape your behaviour in insidious ways, to try and get us to do certain things. That's why at one point last year; Facebook had announced that they are tweaking their algorithms, as people are not sharing enough personal updates. We don't know whether they were successful in getting people to share but we do know that Facebook wanted people to share more, as they wanted to do something. Facebook cannot throw you in jail but they along with other corporations are trying to shape your behaviour in insidious ways × “It's dangerous to see what they can do with the algorithms, like how they use it to drive political campaigns during elections and move towards targeted campaigns. In America for example, in this year’s elections, if we were seen as potential Trump supporters and possible voters, the messages we would get would be different because our profiles are different, unlike the earlier times when potential voters of a single party would receive same messaging.” Also Read: Humour to the rescue: Memes flood Internet post-US election But not all is negative in this forever connected world. Surveillance vests power in the watcher and using this, the dynamics can change with different actors at play. She narrates how some slum colonies in Delhi where riots happened used surveillance as a tool for their benefit. The community itself bought CCTV cameras because they got fed up with the police arresting boys from the neighbourhood and blaming them for riots while according to the locals, the actual violence was committed by people outside of the community. She says, “They wanted to be in a situation where they can provide proof in future instances, so they reversed the gaze.” While surveillance continues at every level, be it in the workplace or public spaces; the kind that government indulges in online, is always riskier. The government of any country has the right to keep a check but it “ideally should happen only after the State has a suspicion on a person of a crime or any such affiliation”. In earlier times, the system didn’t necessarily work but “at least in theory there were some checks and balances that didn’t give enormous power to those doing the watching”. Anja adds, “It means that as a society we have less and less control over setting the norms because somebody has set the norm and if we behave out of it, we will be penalised. We are not only just expecting it to happen but are more conscious and aware of our surroundings--how to behave in public spaces, what to say on social media, what data to pull out and etc.” As a society we have less and less control over setting the norms because somebody has set the norm and if we behave out of it, we will be penalised. × How Open is the Internet? A part of a movement that aims to make the Internet free and a democratic space for all, Anja explains that there is also something called nudging in public policy. Facebook also does nudging through tweaks to the algorithms so that they can incentivise you to do particular things. Similarly, the Planning Commission of India, Niti Aayog also has a nudging unit now. She says, “What they want to do is to use data of popular government schemes and tweak them slightly so that more people can benefit from the policies. So nudging can be used for positive means as well but you can easily use it for negative purposes. "There is no idea of what is being done with our data and who keeps a check. So it’s not just the traditional form of surveillance where they are watching people to catch them when they do something wrong but it’s really also about the insidious ways in which they are shaping the society, shaping people to do stuff without them knowing. As citizens, that’s a problem.” While surveillance is an issue that needs urgent attention and scope for active and open discussions, there is also a big question around how open the Internet really is? Anja simply answers that it depends on ways on how you use the Internet. She says, “There are still some ways of using the Internet that is much more decentralised where you have more control on your data but it’s a little bit more complex. There’s a reason why so many of us ended up on platforms like Facebook and Twitter as they made sharing of content so easy. But it’s true that there has been a shift to more and more centralisation on the Internet even though the technology remains decentralised.” She emphasises on focusing on how these big companies are trying to escape regulations everywhere and how they are able to become so big without anybody questioning them. She adds, “Even Microsoft was put into antitrust regulations in the late 90’s because they had bundled Explorer in every system. Explorer is still installed in every Windows system but we now have the choice of using or not using it. Managing a very strong presence in browsers they had left users with no option. People complained that Microsoft was forcing them to use their own ecosystems in too many ways. The reason as to why many use Firefox or Chrome instead of Explorer is as a result of that.” Cyber Security When online we are usually privy to the eyes of many, even after checks and balances have been put in place. This concern gives fodder to cyber security, a term that is often used when talking about online safety for the weak and vulnerable. Also Read: Are we going to lose our jobs to robots? Anja, however, is not pleased with the existing discourse on cyber security. She says, “The way it is present now--don’t do this, don’t do that is not helpful and it starts to become more like what we see in the offline space. Don’t wear this when you are out, don’t be out in the night etc., whereas if we want to make the Internet a safe place this is not the right approach. It’s good to be conscious of what you are sharing, who you are sharing it with. You have to be smart. But there is no one-size-fits-all approach and currently, that is what it sounds like. We have to learn basics of risk assessment, to think about what are the threats in my life, actors that I should be worried about. National Cyber Security Policy 2013 (Source: Internet Democracy Project) (WION) × “We have seen in many accounts that parents are complaining about how their children have no sense of privacy and they also complain about children not sharing enough with them. So, clearly the children have a sense of privacy but who they see as threat actors while who their parents think are threat actors are completely different. As children, they see their parents as threat actors and stop sharing information with them. Parents think random strangers are threat actors.” This also emboldens the fact that people must understand the consequences of what they do online and take informed decisions. Lurking dangers of the new-age technology are glaring and it is upon us to make informed choices, to completely avoid or at least diminish the loss value attached to any attack via the Internet. Starting in 2011, The Internet Democracy Project has been focusing on the Internet and human rights issues. Their focus is on bringing together the domain of technology with ideas of democracy and social justice. However, in a world where authoritarian tendencies trump democratic values and promises of social justice are yet to be realised, it is a still a long road before misuses of technology can be stopped by brining in more accountability in the surveillance system. (WION)

Do you feel the gaze? We all are being watched

<p>Twitter hired Ned Segal, senior vice president of finance at Intuit and a former managing director at Goldman Sachs Group, as its chief financial officer beginning in late August.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Anthony Noto, who has been serving as Twitter&#39;s CFO and chief operating officer since November, will remain at the company as COO, Twitter said in a statement.</p>

<p>The appointment of Segal, 43, comes as investors are demonstrating renewed optimism in Twitter, which still lags rival social network Facebook in terms of size and profitability.</p>

<p>Twitter shares rose 3 per cent before the announcement of Segal&#39;s hiring after the market&#39;s close. The stock is up 32 per cent since April 17, when it hit the low of the year at $14.12.</p>

<p>In April, Twitter reported better-than-expected user growth in the first quarter of the year, partly related to heightened user interest in political news and comment.</p>

<p>Before joining Intuit, Segal was the CFO of RPX, which helps companies manage patent risk, and earlier spent some 17 years at Goldman, according to a biography provided by Twitter.</p>

<p>From 2009 to 2013, Segal was a Goldman managing director and head of its global software investment banking unit, advising tech companies on mergers, acquisitions, and initial public offerings, Twitter said.</p>

<p>Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey said Segal was an ideal fit because of the range of his experience.</p>

<p>&quot;He brings a principled, engaging and rigorous approach to the CFO role, with a track record of driving profitable growth,&quot; Dorsey said in a statement.</p>

<p>Segal said in a statement he was committed to helping Twitter &quot;continue toward its goal of GAAP profitability.&quot;</p>

<p>Segal is entitled to receive a signing bonus of $300,000 and his annual salary will be $500,000, Twitter said in a securities filing. He will also be eligible to receive 1.2 million shares in the company, subject to conditions and vesting, according to the filing.</p>

<p>Twitter is scheduled to report earnings for the second quarter on July 27.</p>


The appointment of Ned Segal comes as investors are demonstrating renewed optimism in Twitter, which still lags rival social network Facebook in terms of size and profitability

Twitter hired Ned Segal, senior vice president of finance at Intuit and a former managing director at Goldman Sachs Group, as its chief financial officer beginning in late August. Anthony Noto, who has been serving as Twitter's CFO and chief operating officer since November, will remain at the company as COO, Twitter said in a statement. The appointment of Segal, 43, comes as investors are demonstrating renewed optimism in Twitter, which still lags rival social network Facebook in terms of size and profitability. Twitter shares rose 3 per cent before the announcement of Segal's hiring after the market's close. The stock is up 32 per cent since April 17, when it hit the low of the year at $14.12. In April, Twitter reported better-than-expected user growth in the first quarter of the year, partly related to heightened user interest in political news and comment. Before joining Intuit, Segal was the CFO of RPX, which helps companies manage patent risk, and earlier spent some 17 years at Goldman, according to a biography provided by Twitter. From 2009 to 2013, Segal was a Goldman managing director and head of its global software investment banking unit, advising tech companies on mergers, acquisitions, and initial public offerings, Twitter said. Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey said Segal was an ideal fit because of the range of his experience. "He brings a principled, engaging and rigorous approach to the CFO role, with a track record of driving profitable growth," Dorsey said in a statement. Segal said in a statement he was committed to helping Twitter "continue toward its goal of GAAP profitability." Segal is entitled to receive a signing bonus of $300,000 and his annual salary will be $500,000, Twitter said in a securities filing. He will also be eligible to receive 1.2 million shares in the company, subject to conditions and vesting, according to the filing. Twitter is scheduled to report earnings for the second quarter on July 27.

Twitter hires ex-Goldman managing director as CFO

<p>Twitter, in its latest step to curb abusive behaviour on its platform, rolled out new features to help users disable notifications from accounts that they want to avoid.</p>

<p>The microblogging website said its &quot;advanced filter settings&quot; will now have options for users to mute notifications from accounts that they do not follow as well as from accounts that do not follow them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Users can also filter lower-quality content from notifications such as content that appears to be automated and mute notifications related to certain words and phrases.</p>

<p>Twitter had said in March that it would introduce new filtering options for notifications to allow users to limit what they see from certain types of accounts, such as those that do not have a profile photo.</p>

<p>Twitter and rival Facebook&nbsp;have been facing a barrage of criticism for failing to tackle cyber-bullying, fake news and extremist propaganda on their platforms.</p>


A new feature helps Twitter users disable notifications from accounts that they want to avoid

Twitter, in its latest step to curb abusive behaviour on its platform, rolled out new features to help users disable notifications from accounts that they want to avoid. The microblogging website said its "advanced filter settings" will now have options for users to mute notifications from accounts that they do not follow as well as from accounts that do not follow them. Users can also filter lower-quality content from notifications such as content that appears to be automated and mute notifications related to certain words and phrases. Twitter had said in March that it would introduce new filtering options for notifications to allow users to limit what they see from certain types of accounts, such as those that do not have a profile photo. Twitter and rival Facebook have been facing a barrage of criticism for failing to tackle cyber-bullying, fake news and extremist propaganda on their platforms.

You can now easily mute trolls on Twitter

<p>Facebook, Twitter, and Snap are seeking online rights to video highlights from Twenty-first Century Fox for next year&#39;s soccer World Cup, <em>Bloomberg</em> reported on Thursday.</p>

<p>The companies have offered tens of millions of dollars for rights to video highlights for the Russia-hosted tournament that air in the United States. Fox will retain rights to use highlights of the World Cup across its shows.</p>

<p>Social media companies have beefed up their focus on signing live-streaming sports deals as young audience increasingly rely on the internet to watch sports, ditching the traditional cable services.</p>

<p>Fox Sports said last month it partnered with Facebook to live-stream UEFA Champions League matches during the 2017-18 season.</p>

<p>Social media&#39;s growing interest in video, including sports, gives Fox a potential new source of revenue for the games as well as a tool to promote its coverage.</p>

<p>Twenty-first Century Fox, Facebook, Twitter, and Snap were not immediately available to comment outside regular US business hours.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The companies have offered tens of millions of dollars for rights to video highlights for the Russia-hosted tournament that air in the United States

Facebook, Twitter, and Snap are seeking online rights to video highlights from Twenty-first Century Fox for next year's soccer World Cup, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The companies have offered tens of millions of dollars for rights to video highlights for the Russia-hosted tournament that air in the United States. Fox will retain rights to use highlights of the World Cup across its shows. Social media companies have beefed up their focus on signing live-streaming sports deals as young audience increasingly rely on the internet to watch sports, ditching the traditional cable services. Fox Sports said last month it partnered with Facebook to live-stream UEFA Champions League matches during the 2017-18 season. Social media's growing interest in video, including sports, gives Fox a potential new source of revenue for the games as well as a tool to promote its coverage. Twenty-first Century Fox, Facebook, Twitter, and Snap were not immediately available to comment outside regular US business hours.

Facebook, Twitter, Snap to seek soccer World Cup clips from Fox: Report

<p>Social media giants Facebook, Google&#39;s YouTube, Twitter, and Microsoft are forming a global working group to combine their efforts to remove terrorist content from their platforms.</p>

<p>Responding to pressure from governments in Europe and the United States after a spate of militant attacks, the companies said they would share technical solutions for removing terrorist content, commission research to inform their counter-speech efforts and work more with counter-terrorism experts.</p>

<p>&quot;The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism will formalise and structure existing and future areas of collaboration between our companies and foster cooperation with smaller tech companies, civil society groups and academics, governments and supra-national bodies such as the EU and the UN,&quot; the companies said in a statement.</p>

<p>The move comes on the heels of last week&#39;s call from European heads of state for tech firms to establish an industry forum and develop new technology and tools to improve the automatic detection and removal of extremist content. The political pressure on the companies has raised the prospect of new legislation at EU level, but so far only Germany has proposed a law fining social media networks up to 50 million euros ($56 million) if they fail to remove hateful postings quickly. The lower house of the German parliament is expected to vote on the law this week.</p>

<p>The companies will seek to improve technical work such as a database created in December to share unique digital fingerprints they automatically assign to videos or photos of extremist content. They will also exchange best practices on content detection techniques using machine learning as well as define &#39;standard transparency reporting methods for terrorist content removals.&#39;</p>

<p>Earlier this month Facebook opened up about its efforts to remove terrorism content in response to criticism from politicians that tech giants are not doing enough to stop militant groups using their platforms for propaganda and recruiting. Google announced additional measures to identify and remove terrorist or violent extremist content on its video-sharing platform YouTube shortly thereafter. Twitter suspended 376,890 accounts for violations related to the promotion of terrorism in the second half of 2016 and will share further updates on its efforts to combat violent extremism on its platform in its next Transparency Report.</p>

<p>The social media firms said they would work with smaller companies to help them tackle extremist content and organisations such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies to work on ways to counter online extremism and hate. All four companies have initiatives to counter online hate speech and will use the forum to improve their efforts and train civil society organisations engaged in similar work.</p>


The companies said they will share technical solutions for removing terrorist content, commission research to inform their counter-speech efforts and work more with counter-terrorism experts

Social media giants Facebook, Google's YouTube, Twitter, and Microsoft are forming a global working group to combine their efforts to remove terrorist content from their platforms. Responding to pressure from governments in Europe and the United States after a spate of militant attacks, the companies said they would share technical solutions for removing terrorist content, commission research to inform their counter-speech efforts and work more with counter-terrorism experts. "The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism will formalise and structure existing and future areas of collaboration between our companies and foster cooperation with smaller tech companies, civil society groups and academics, governments and supra-national bodies such as the EU and the UN," the companies said in a statement. The move comes on the heels of last week's call from European heads of state for tech firms to establish an industry forum and develop new technology and tools to improve the automatic detection and removal of extremist content. The political pressure on the companies has raised the prospect of new legislation at EU level, but so far only Germany has proposed a law fining social media networks up to 50 million euros ($56 million) if they fail to remove hateful postings quickly. The lower house of the German parliament is expected to vote on the law this week. The companies will seek to improve technical work such as a database created in December to share unique digital fingerprints they automatically assign to videos or photos of extremist content. They will also exchange best practices on content detection techniques using machine learning as well as define 'standard transparency reporting methods for terrorist content removals.' Earlier this month Facebook opened up about its efforts to remove terrorism content in response to criticism from politicians that tech giants are not doing enough to stop militant groups using their platforms for propaganda and recruiting. Google announced additional measures to identify and remove terrorist or violent extremist content on its video-sharing platform YouTube shortly thereafter. Twitter suspended 376,890 accounts for violations related to the promotion of terrorism in the second half of 2016 and will share further updates on its efforts to combat violent extremism on its platform in its next Transparency Report. The social media firms said they would work with smaller companies to help them tackle extremist content and organisations such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies to work on ways to counter online extremism and hate. All four companies have initiatives to counter online hate speech and will use the forum to improve their efforts and train civil society organisations engaged in similar work.

Social media giants step up joint fight against extremist content

<p>The world is celebrating Father&#39;s Day and so are our Bollywood&nbsp;celebs. Many of them took over Twitter and Instagram to wish their fathers on this special day.</p>

<p>Karan Johar, film director and producer, wished his father Yash Johar today. His father Yash Johar passed away in 2004, but that didn&#39;t stop him from expressing his love.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">A father is just a mother in denial....he too wants to nurture..to hug..to hold..he was taught not to...let&#39;s change that..<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HappyFathersDay?src=hash">#HappyFathersDay</a></p>
&mdash; Karan Johar (@karanjohar) <a href="https://twitter.com/karanjohar/status/876317143914041348">June 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Tiger Shroff, who is working on his next movie titled Munna Michael, also took the time to wish his father Jackie Shroff on Twitter. Jackie Shroff is a veteran actor of over 100 movies.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">So lucky to be his son...n so unlucky to try n take his legacy forward.<a href="https://twitter.com/bindasbhidu">@bindasbhidu</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bestdad?src=hash">#bestdad</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bestfriend?src=hash">#bestfriend</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hugeshoestofill?src=hash">#hugeshoestofill</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/happyfathersday?src=hash">#happyfathersday</a> <a href="https://t.co/I4ujPjBYwc">pic.twitter.com/I4ujPjBYwc</a></p>
&mdash; Tiger Shroff (@iTIGERSHROFF) <a href="https://twitter.com/iTIGERSHROFF/status/876337975507861504">June 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Shraddha Kapoor, daughter of the famous Bollywood comic actor Shakti Kapoor, also wished him on Twitter&nbsp;by posting a GIF.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">My baapu!No one can make me laugh the way you do!Nothing matters more than seeing you smile..making you proud.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HappyFathersDay?src=hash">#HappyFathersDay</a> Love you ?? <a href="https://t.co/04ydy9IVFi">pic.twitter.com/04ydy9IVFi</a></p>
&mdash; Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShraddhaKapoor/status/876366182558957568">June 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Athiya Shetty, who made her Bollywood debut in Hero, a romantic action co-directed by Salman Khan, showed her love to her father Suniel Shetty on Twitter.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Happyfathersday?src=hash">#Happyfathersday</a> to my biggest strength n greatest weakness. I love u even when I don&#39;t express it enough.Thank u for encouraging my madness <a href="https://t.co/NRCErQg9eH">pic.twitter.com/NRCErQg9eH</a></p>
&mdash; Athiya Shetty (@theathiyashetty) <a href="https://twitter.com/theathiyashetty/status/876325040936988672">June 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Vikas Khanna, one of the top&nbsp;chefs in India and the judge of Master Chef India, uploaded a picture of the Museum of Kitchen which is yet under construction and wished his father who passed away two years ago.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Though everyday belongs to you.<br />
In your loving memory <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MuseumofKitchenArts?src=hash">#MuseumofKitchenArts</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HappyFathersDay?src=hash">#HappyFathersDay</a> <a href="https://t.co/8puDILT78K">pic.twitter.com/8puDILT78K</a></p>
&mdash; Vikas Khanna (@TheVikasKhanna) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheVikasKhanna/status/876311035711549442">June 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Boman Irani also took to Twitter to wish his mother on the occasion of Father&#39;s Day.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Wished my Mother a Happy <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FathersDay?src=hash">#FathersDay</a> .<br />
A grand lady, who played both roles with equal measure......to this very day.</p>
&mdash; Boman Irani (@bomanirani) <a href="https://twitter.com/bomanirani/status/876283508838289408">June 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Armaan Malik, one of India&#39;s youngest singer who has earned his fame through&nbsp;&quot;Main Hoon Hero Tera&quot;, also posted a lovely picture on Twitter for his father.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HappyFathersDay?src=hash">#HappyFathersDay</a> to the coolest dad in the world <a href="https://twitter.com/daboomalik">@daboomalik</a>! love you ??????? <a href="https://t.co/XlvZHwGAF9">https://t.co/XlvZHwGAF9</a> <a href="https://t.co/JpAI8UTE6C">pic.twitter.com/JpAI8UTE6C</a></p>
&mdash; ARMAAN MALIK (@ArmaanMalik22) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArmaanMalik22/status/876280868737646593">June 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Alia Bhatt, the Bollywood Diva, daughter of film director Mahesh Bhatt, posted on Instagram wishing him on the special day.</p>

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<p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BVd-kH5n1KN/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Thanks daddy for sharing your DNA, now we&#39;re both fabulous!! The core of all my inspiration!!!! I love you my friend ????#happyfathersday</a></p>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Alia ??? (@aliaabhatt) on <time datetime="2017-06-18T05:00:12+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Jun 17, 2017 at 10:00pm PDT</time></p>
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<p>Seems like the celebs are having a blast. Hope you all have a very Happy Father&#39;s Day as well.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Bollywood celebrities take over social media on Father's Day

The world is celebrating Father's Day and so are our Bollywood celebs. Many of them took over Twitter and Instagram to wish their fathers on this special day. Karan Johar, film director and producer, wished his father Yash Johar today. His father Yash Johar passed away in 2004, but that didn't stop him from expressing his love. A father is just a mother in denial....he too wants to nurture..to hug..to hold..he was taught not to...let's change that..#HappyFathersDay — Karan Johar (@karanjohar) June 18, 2017 × Tiger Shroff, who is working on his next movie titled Munna Michael, also took the time to wish his father Jackie Shroff on Twitter. Jackie Shroff is a veteran actor of over 100 movies. So lucky to be his son...n so unlucky to try n take his legacy forward.@bindasbhidu #bestdad #bestfriend #hugeshoestofill #happyfathersday pic.twitter.com/I4ujPjBYwc — Tiger Shroff (@iTIGERSHROFF) June 18, 2017 × Shraddha Kapoor, daughter of the famous Bollywood comic actor Shakti Kapoor, also wished him on Twitter by posting a GIF. My baapu!No one can make me laugh the way you do!Nothing matters more than seeing you smile..making you proud.#HappyFathersDay Love you ?? pic.twitter.com/04ydy9IVFi — Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) June 18, 2017 × Athiya Shetty, who made her Bollywood debut in Hero, a romantic action co-directed by Salman Khan, showed her love to her father Suniel Shetty on Twitter. #Happyfathersday to my biggest strength n greatest weakness. I love u even when I don't express it enough.Thank u for encouraging my madness pic.twitter.com/NRCErQg9eH — Athiya Shetty (@theathiyashetty) June 18, 2017 × Vikas Khanna, one of the top chefs in India and the judge of Master Chef India, uploaded a picture of the Museum of Kitchen which is yet under construction and wished his father who passed away two years ago. Though everyday belongs to you. In your loving memory #MuseumofKitchenArts #HappyFathersDay pic.twitter.com/8puDILT78K — Vikas Khanna (@TheVikasKhanna) June 18, 2017 × Boman Irani also took to Twitter to wish his mother on the occasion of Father's Day. Wished my Mother a Happy #FathersDay . A grand lady, who played both roles with equal measure......to this very day. — Boman Irani (@bomanirani) June 18, 2017 × Armaan Malik, one of India's youngest singer who has earned his fame through "Main Hoon Hero Tera", also posted a lovely picture on Twitter for his father. #HappyFathersDay to the coolest dad in the world @daboomalik! love you ??????? https://t.co/XlvZHwGAF9 pic.twitter.com/JpAI8UTE6C — ARMAAN MALIK (@ArmaanMalik22) June 18, 2017 × Alia Bhatt, the Bollywood Diva, daughter of film director Mahesh Bhatt, posted on Instagram wishing him on the special day. Thanks daddy for sharing your DNA, now we're both fabulous!! The core of all my inspiration!!!! I love you my friend ????#happyfathersday A post shared by Alia ??? (@aliaabhatt) on Jun 17, 2017 at 10:00pm PDT × Seems like the celebs are having a blast. Hope you all have a very Happy Father's Day as well.

Bollywood celebs wish their dads on Father's Day

<p>In the wake of the recent terror attack in London on Saturday night, British Prime Minister Theresa May issued a statement wherein she mentioned different ways that need to be adopted to counter terrorism. Emphasising on the need to overhaul strategies to combat extremism, May held tech companies partly responsible for providing extremists a &ldquo;safe space&rdquo; to grow.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/london-bridge-attack-facebook-twitter-aim-to-clean-terrorist-content-16431">Also </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/london-bridge-attack-facebook-twitter-aim-to-clean-terrorist-content-16431">Read:</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/london-bridge-attack-facebook-twitter-aim-to-clean-terrorist-content-16431">&nbsp;Facebook, Twitter aim to clean &#39;terrorist content&#39;</a></p>

<p>&ldquo;We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed. Yet that is precisely what the internet, and the big companies that provide internet-based services provide,&rdquo; said May in a statement on the London Bridge terror attack.</p>

<p>It is true that extremist groups are using the web to recruit members, spread hate and extremist propaganda, send coded messages and coordinate attacks, but it wouldn&rsquo;t be right to condemn internet companies for the same as these companies, seemingly, are doing a fair job to take down any content or accounts that are involved in terrorist activities and/or encourage support for terrorism.</p>

<p>Facebook, for instance, has been using a mix of tech and humans to prevent the spread of extremist content on the website. &quot;Using a combination of technology and human review, we work aggressively to remove terrorist content from our platform as soon as we become aware of it,&rdquo; said Simon Milner, director of policy at Facebook in an emailed statement.</p>

<p>&ldquo;And if we become aware of an emergency involving imminent harm to someone&#39;s safety, we notify law enforcement,&rdquo; added Milner.</p>

<p>Twitter, on the other hand, <a href="https://transparency.twitter.com/en/gov-tos-reports.html">suspended a total of 3,76,890 accounts</a> for promoting terrorism between July-Dec 2016. According to the company, 3/4th of the accounts taken down were discovered with the help of Twitter&#39;s internal, proprietary spam-fighting tools, while only the two per cent of those were suspended in the reported time after government requests.</p>

<p>Not only Facebook and Twitter, Google has also been playing an active role to fight terrorism on its multiple platforms. For instance, YouTube doesn&rsquo;t encourage the spread of hateful content and immediately removes any content that aims to incite violence. Its software further prevents the video from being reposted. In 2015 alone, YouTube removed 92 million videos for violation of its policies through a mix of user flagging and its own spam-detection technology. However, videos that were taken down for terrorism or hate speech violations happened to be 1 per cent of them.</p>

<p>In fact, companies including Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and YouTube last year joined hands to help curb extremist content online. They teamed up to create a shared industry database of unique digital fingerprints for images and videos that support extremist organisations. Those digital fingerprints come to the companies&#39; help for identifying extremist content so that it can be easily removed.</p>

<p><strong>Cyberspace regulation</strong></p>

<p>Not only May held tech companies responsible for the growing extremism online, but she also expressed the need &ldquo;to work with allied democratic governments to reach international agreements that regulate cyberspace to prevent the spread of extremist and terrorism planning.&quot; While it is believed that May&rsquo;s recent remark suggesting the need to regulate the internet and encryption could aggravate problems further.</p>

<p>Explaining why this wouldn&rsquo;t be a right move to opt for cyberspace regulation, privacy advocacy organisation <a href="https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/2017/the-london-attacks">Open Rights Group said</a>, &ldquo;This could be a very risky approach. If successful, Theresa May could push these vile networks into even darker corners of the web, where they will be even harder to observe.&rdquo;</p>

<p>&ldquo;While governments and companies should take sensible measures to stop abuse, attempts to control the Internet is not the simple solution that Theresa May is claiming,&rdquo; added British non-profit.</p>

<p>The government, on the other hand, finds encrypted data to be of threat to national security. It has been long arguing that companies should provide investigators with the backdoor access to the encrypted information. But privacy advocates have been suggesting that by forcing tech companies to share encrypted data wouldn&rsquo;t protect national security.</p>

<p>Weakening encryption wouldn&rsquo;t guarantee people&rsquo;s safety, says cyber security expert Richard Forno. Terrorists in such cases may develop their own cyber channels, Forno hinted at a likely possibility. &quot;The bad guys are not constrained by the law. That&#39;s why they&#39;re bad guys,&rdquo; he added.</p>

<p>Also, building backdoor entries into encryption could make data, which include personal and confidential details, more prone to hacking.</p>

<p>No wonder, tech companies like Facebook and Google are behaving responsibly and putting in their efforts to prevent the spread of extremist content, without compromising on the user privacy, but the bigger question is that is it solely the tech companies&#39; job to police the internet?</p>

<p>Will the Internet censorship help curb the terrorism? We don&rsquo;t believe so.</p>

<p><em>(WION)</em></p>


British Prime Minister Theresa May held tech companies partly responsible for providing extremists a ?safe space? to grow.

In the wake of the recent terror attack in London on Saturday night, British Prime Minister Theresa May issued a statement wherein she mentioned different ways that need to be adopted to counter terrorism. Emphasising on the need to overhaul strategies to combat extremism, May held tech companies partly responsible for providing extremists a “safe space” to grow. Also Read: Facebook, Twitter aim to clean 'terrorist content' “We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed. Yet that is precisely what the internet, and the big companies that provide internet-based services provide,” said May in a statement on the London Bridge terror attack. It is true that extremist groups are using the web to recruit members, spread hate and extremist propaganda, send coded messages and coordinate attacks, but it wouldn’t be right to condemn internet companies for the same as these companies, seemingly, are doing a fair job to take down any content or accounts that are involved in terrorist activities and/or encourage support for terrorism. Facebook, for instance, has been using a mix of tech and humans to prevent the spread of extremist content on the website. "Using a combination of technology and human review, we work aggressively to remove terrorist content from our platform as soon as we become aware of it,” said Simon Milner, director of policy at Facebook in an emailed statement. “And if we become aware of an emergency involving imminent harm to someone's safety, we notify law enforcement,” added Milner. Twitter, on the other hand, suspended a total of 3,76,890 accounts for promoting terrorism between July-Dec 2016. According to the company, 3/4th of the accounts taken down were discovered with the help of Twitter's internal, proprietary spam-fighting tools, while only the two per cent of those were suspended in the reported time after government requests. Not only Facebook and Twitter, Google has also been playing an active role to fight terrorism on its multiple platforms. For instance, YouTube doesn’t encourage the spread of hateful content and immediately removes any content that aims to incite violence. Its software further prevents the video from being reposted. In 2015 alone, YouTube removed 92 million videos for violation of its policies through a mix of user flagging and its own spam-detection technology. However, videos that were taken down for terrorism or hate speech violations happened to be 1 per cent of them. In fact, companies including Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and YouTube last year joined hands to help curb extremist content online. They teamed up to create a shared industry database of unique digital fingerprints for images and videos that support extremist organisations. Those digital fingerprints come to the companies' help for identifying extremist content so that it can be easily removed. Cyberspace regulation Not only May held tech companies responsible for the growing extremism online, but she also expressed the need “to work with allied democratic governments to reach international agreements that regulate cyberspace to prevent the spread of extremist and terrorism planning." While it is believed that May’s recent remark suggesting the need to regulate the internet and encryption could aggravate problems further. Explaining why this wouldn’t be a right move to opt for cyberspace regulation, privacy advocacy organisation Open Rights Group said, “This could be a very risky approach. If successful, Theresa May could push these vile networks into even darker corners of the web, where they will be even harder to observe.” “While governments and companies should take sensible measures to stop abuse, attempts to control the Internet is not the simple solution that Theresa May is claiming,” added British non-profit. The government, on the other hand, finds encrypted data to be of threat to national security. It has been long arguing that companies should provide investigators with the backdoor access to the encrypted information. But privacy advocates have been suggesting that by forcing tech companies to share encrypted data wouldn’t protect national security. Weakening encryption wouldn’t guarantee people’s safety, says cyber security expert Richard Forno. Terrorists in such cases may develop their own cyber channels, Forno hinted at a likely possibility. "The bad guys are not constrained by the law. That's why they're bad guys,” he added. Also, building backdoor entries into encryption could make data, which include personal and confidential details, more prone to hacking. No wonder, tech companies like Facebook and Google are behaving responsibly and putting in their efforts to prevent the spread of extremist content, without compromising on the user privacy, but the bigger question is that is it solely the tech companies' job to police the internet? Will the Internet censorship help curb the terrorism? We don’t believe so. (WION)

Terrorism on web: Why it's not fair to condemn tech companies and regulate cyberspace

<p>When National Broadcasting Company (NBC)&#39;s Megyn Kelly on Thursday asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he was on Twitter, little did she know that her question would make her the target of attacks on the microblogging site.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">At state dinner party at Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg with Russian President Putin and Indian PM Modi. More tonight <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNightlyNews">@NBCNightlyNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/FX5kjfIJAf">pic.twitter.com/FX5kjfIJAf</a></p>
&mdash; Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/megynkelly/status/870365907389992961">June 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Modi ranks third with 30.3 million followers&nbsp;in terms of the most followed world leaders on Twitter, after former US president Barack Obama and current US President Donald Trump.</p>

<p>This is why some Indians are now upset with Kelly.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNews">@NBCNews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/megynkelly">@megynkelly</a> asks <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi">@narendramodi</a> ,the 3rd Most Followed World Leader on <a href="https://twitter.com/Twitter">@Twitter</a> ,&quot;Are you on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Twitter?src=hash">#Twitter</a> ?&quot;. She hasn&#39;t done homework! <a href="https://t.co/6KTVj3yY2G">pic.twitter.com/6KTVj3yY2G</a></p>
&mdash; Swamiji (@AOLSwamiji) <a href="https://twitter.com/AOLSwamiji/status/870416532332961794">June 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Dear <a href="https://twitter.com/megynkelly">@megynkelly</a> here is ur twitter profile vs <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi">@narendramodi</a> sir profile,still u ask that r u on twitter. Wats d population f ur country btw <a href="https://t.co/bFcanO6iLP">pic.twitter.com/bFcanO6iLP</a></p>
&mdash; Kumar Amritansh (@Banarasi_Hindu) <a href="https://twitter.com/Banarasi_Hindu/status/870443135536680961">June 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Did Megyn Kelly just ask the PM if he&#39;s on Twitter?! <a href="https://t.co/43VkvZ9x0r">https://t.co/43VkvZ9x0r</a></p>
&mdash; Sreenivasan Jain (@SreenivasanJain) <a href="https://twitter.com/SreenivasanJain/status/870475308050161664">June 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>The events unfloded&nbsp;when &nbsp;Modi praised Kelly for her picture on Twitter where she is posing with an umbrella. A surprised Kelly asked the Prime Minister &quot;Are you on Twitter?&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">EXCLUSIVE: NBC News&#39; <a href="https://twitter.com/megynkelly">@megynkelly</a> joins Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi ahead of tomorrow&#39;s International Economic Forum in Russia. <a href="https://t.co/L12ahtuTDO">pic.twitter.com/L12ahtuTDO</a></p>
&mdash; NBC News (@NBCNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/870386658323124224">June 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Modi laughed off her question.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(WION)</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Modi ranks third with 30.3 million followers?in terms of the most followed world leaders on the microblogging site. This is why some Indians are now upset with Kelly.

When National Broadcasting Company (NBC)'s Megyn Kelly on Thursday asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he was on Twitter, little did she know that her question would make her the target of attacks on the microblogging site. At state dinner party at Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg with Russian President Putin and Indian PM Modi. More tonight @NBCNightlyNews pic.twitter.com/FX5kjfIJAf — Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) June 1, 2017 × Modi ranks third with 30.3 million followers in terms of the most followed world leaders on Twitter, after former US president Barack Obama and current US President Donald Trump. This is why some Indians are now upset with Kelly. .@NBCNews @megynkelly asks @narendramodi ,the 3rd Most Followed World Leader on @Twitter ,"Are you on #Twitter ?". She hasn't done homework! pic.twitter.com/6KTVj3yY2G — Swamiji (@AOLSwamiji) June 1, 2017 × Dear @megynkelly here is ur twitter profile vs @narendramodi sir profile,still u ask that r u on twitter. Wats d population f ur country btw pic.twitter.com/bFcanO6iLP — Kumar Amritansh (@Banarasi_Hindu) June 2, 2017 × Did Megyn Kelly just ask the PM if he's on Twitter?! https://t.co/43VkvZ9x0r — Sreenivasan Jain (@SreenivasanJain) June 2, 2017 × The events unfloded when Modi praised Kelly for her picture on Twitter where she is posing with an umbrella. A surprised Kelly asked the Prime Minister "Are you on Twitter?" EXCLUSIVE: NBC News' @megynkelly joins Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi ahead of tomorrow's International Economic Forum in Russia. pic.twitter.com/L12ahtuTDO — NBC News (@NBCNews) June 1, 2017 × Modi laughed off her question. (WION)

'Are you on Twitter?', NBC anchor Megyn Kelly asks PM Modi

<p>Kings XI Punjab beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 19 runs to stay afloat in the Indian Premier League, in Bengaluru on Friday.</p>

<p>Put into bat, Kings XI Punjab scored 138 for 7 in their IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.</p>

<p>Axar Patel top-scored for Kings XI with a 17-ball 38 not out.</p>

<p>For RCB, Aniket Choudhary and Yuzvendra Chahal got the most wickets with two scalps each.</p>

<p>In reply, RCB were all-out for 119 in 19 overs with Madeep Singh scoring 46 off 40 balls.</p>

<p>Sandeep Sharma (3/22 in 4 overs) removed Chris Gayle, skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to set up the match for KXIP. Axar (3/11 in 3 overs) also got his share of scalps.</p>

<p>Skipper Glenn Maxwell and Mohit Sharma got couple of wickets each.</p>

<p>KXIP now has 10 points from 10 games while RCB stay put at last position with 5 points from 11 games.</p>

<p>(PTI)</p>


Justin Bieber landed in India in the wee hours of the morning as part of the Indian leg of his ?Purpose? tour

Kings XI Punjab beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 19 runs to stay afloat in the Indian Premier League, in Bengaluru on Friday. Put into bat, Kings XI Punjab scored 138 for 7 in their IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Axar Patel top-scored for Kings XI with a 17-ball 38 not out. For RCB, Aniket Choudhary and Yuzvendra Chahal got the most wickets with two scalps each. In reply, RCB were all-out for 119 in 19 overs with Madeep Singh scoring 46 off 40 balls. Sandeep Sharma (3/22 in 4 overs) removed Chris Gayle, skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to set up the match for KXIP. Axar (3/11 in 3 overs) also got his share of scalps. Skipper Glenn Maxwell and Mohit Sharma got couple of wickets each. KXIP now has 10 points from 10 games while RCB stay put at last position with 5 points from 11 games. (PTI)

Twitter frenzy: Justin Bieber's India concert today

<p>Twitter is partnering with Bloomberg Media for a round-the-clock streaming television news service on the social networking platform, reported the<em> Wall Street Journal</em>.</p>

<p>The channel, which is yet to be named and is expected to begin operations this fall, would be announced on Monday, <em>WSJ</em> said.</p>

<p>Twitter&#39;s user growth has stalled in the past few quarters and the company has been trying to convince advertisers that it will strengthen its user base.</p>

<p>As part of its efforts, it has updated its product offerings including live video broadcasts from its app and launched new features to attract users.</p>

<p>Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in an internal memo last October one of the company&#39;s missions was defined as being the &quot;people&#39;s news network&quot;.</p>

<p>Twitter has made a push into news and sports on mobile devices last year and this foray could pique the interest of a media company as an acquirer, analysts have said.</p>

<p>(Reuters)</p>


The channel is yet to be named and is expected to begin operations this fall

Twitter is partnering with Bloomberg Media for a round-the-clock streaming television news service on the social networking platform, reported the Wall Street Journal. The channel, which is yet to be named and is expected to begin operations this fall, would be announced on Monday, WSJ said. Twitter's user growth has stalled in the past few quarters and the company has been trying to convince advertisers that it will strengthen its user base. As part of its efforts, it has updated its product offerings including live video broadcasts from its app and launched new features to attract users. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in an internal memo last October one of the company's missions was defined as being the "people's news network". Twitter has made a push into news and sports on mobile devices last year and this foray could pique the interest of a media company as an acquirer, analysts have said. (Reuters)

Twitter partners with Bloomberg for streaming TV news

<p>A couple, like any other couple these days, posted a selfie on Twitter a few days back. But there was something about this particular selfie that has garnered over 47K retweets in just a few days and has everyone freaked out.</p>

<p>At first glance, it looks like any other selfie. But it&#39;s what&#39;s in the background that&#39;s got everyone freaking out on Twitter.</p>

<p>Now see if you can spot what&#39;s wrong with this picture. Do you see it?</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">i love my girlfriend even if shes a gemini ?? <a href="https://t.co/BXa7NTZOJ8">pic.twitter.com/BXa7NTZOJ8</a></p>
&mdash; andy (@extracis) <a href="https://twitter.com/extracis/status/857347377379848192">April 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>If you look in the reflection in the mirror behind the girl, she has a face looking out from where the back of her hair should be.</p>

<p>Here&#39;s how Twitter reacted to this picture.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="und"><a href="https://twitter.com/extracis">@extracis</a> <a href="https://t.co/NY2f352VU4">pic.twitter.com/NY2f352VU4</a></p>
&mdash; ???? (@Jordan1215) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jordan1215/status/857408417060749313">April 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="und"><a href="https://twitter.com/extracis">@extracis</a> <a href="https://t.co/OmCnxIREz7">pic.twitter.com/OmCnxIREz7</a></p>
&mdash; Fernando (@fernandojg3) <a href="https://twitter.com/fernandojg3/status/857383512441323521">April 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/extracis">@extracis</a>: i love my girlfriend even if shes a gemini&quot; what we not fin to do is have this witchcraft on the tl right b4 finals. delete this <a href="https://t.co/CrYYP41eD3">pic.twitter.com/CrYYP41eD3</a></p>
&mdash; deb (@DebzRollcall) <a href="https://twitter.com/DebzRollcall/status/857399695748071428">April 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="und"><a href="https://twitter.com/extracis">@extracis</a> <a href="https://t.co/bZVkLfZgJo">pic.twitter.com/bZVkLfZgJo</a></p>
&mdash; NM (@_naglaaaaaa) <a href="https://twitter.com/_naglaaaaaa/status/857395413715996672">April 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>(WION)</p>


But it's what's in the background that's got everyone freaking out on Twitter

A couple, like any other couple these days, posted a selfie on Twitter a few days back. But there was something about this particular selfie that has garnered over 47K retweets in just a few days and has everyone freaked out. At first glance, it looks like any other selfie. But it's what's in the background that's got everyone freaking out on Twitter. Now see if you can spot what's wrong with this picture. Do you see it? i love my girlfriend even if shes a gemini ?? pic.twitter.com/BXa7NTZOJ8 — andy (@extracis) April 26, 2017 × If you look in the reflection in the mirror behind the girl, she has a face looking out from where the back of her hair should be. Here's how Twitter reacted to this picture. @extracis pic.twitter.com/NY2f352VU4 — ???? (@Jordan1215) April 27, 2017 × @extracis pic.twitter.com/OmCnxIREz7 — Fernando (@fernandojg3) April 26, 2017 × "@extracis: i love my girlfriend even if shes a gemini" what we not fin to do is have this witchcraft on the tl right b4 finals. delete this pic.twitter.com/CrYYP41eD3 — deb (@DebzRollcall) April 27, 2017 × @extracis pic.twitter.com/bZVkLfZgJo — NM (@_naglaaaaaa) April 27, 2017 × (WION)

Couple posts cute selfie, but there's something odd about it

<p>Britain has protested to Twitter over restricting the government&#39;s access to data, a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday.</p>

<p>The Telegraph newspaper, citing industry sources, said Twitter had withdrawn access to information which helped the police and intelligence agencies identify plots as part of the social media firm&#39;s efforts to stop user data being used for surveillance.</p>

<p>&quot;We are protesting this decision. We are in talks with Twitter on getting access to this data,&quot; the spokesman told reporters. He added that social media companies needed to play a role in the government&#39;s fight against terrorism. Twitter was not immediately available for comment.</p>

<p>Twitter has a history of resisting government demands for information about its users.</p>

<p>The company early this month filed a suit against the US government, asking a court to back its refusal to hand over the identities of users claiming to be dissenting federal employees.</p>

<p>The lawsuit revealed that the Department of Homeland Security and US Customs and Border Protection had sought the unmasking of the @ALT_USCIS account holder who had been criticising President Donald Trump&#39;s administration.</p>

<p>Twitter has been forced to temper its approach over the past two years in the face of government pressure to crack down on incitements to violence and user complaints about rampant hate speech and harassment.</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


Twitter has a history of resisting government demands for information about its users

Britain has protested to Twitter over restricting the government's access to data, a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday. The Telegraph newspaper, citing industry sources, said Twitter had withdrawn access to information which helped the police and intelligence agencies identify plots as part of the social media firm's efforts to stop user data being used for surveillance. "We are protesting this decision. We are in talks with Twitter on getting access to this data," the spokesman told reporters. He added that social media companies needed to play a role in the government's fight against terrorism. Twitter was not immediately available for comment. Twitter has a history of resisting government demands for information about its users. The company early this month filed a suit against the US government, asking a court to back its refusal to hand over the identities of users claiming to be dissenting federal employees. The lawsuit revealed that the Department of Homeland Security and US Customs and Border Protection had sought the unmasking of the @ALT_USCIS account holder who had been criticising President Donald Trump's administration. Twitter has been forced to temper its approach over the past two years in the face of government pressure to crack down on incitements to violence and user complaints about rampant hate speech and harassment. (WION)

UK complains to Twitter over withdrawal of access to user data

<p>Twitter began rolling out changes to let people pack more into tweets, subtracting from the character count names of those being replied to in posts.</p>

<p>The latest software modification at the one-to-many messaging service comes about a year after Twitter set out to relax a 140-character limit set due to mobile phone text messaging constraints in place when Twitter launched in 2006.</p>

<p>Twitter first announced plans to relax the limit a year ago, as part of an effort to bring in more members and make the platform easier to use.</p>

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">We&#39;re changing replies so that you have all 140 characters to express yourself.<br />
<br />
Learn more: <a href="https://t.co/PNWGilbmVd">https://t.co/PNWGilbmVd</a> <a href="https://t.co/cxBJohZc2Q">pic.twitter.com/cxBJohZc2Q</a></p>
&mdash; Twitter (@Twitter) <a href="https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/847479110616047616">March 30, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>

<p>&quot;Remember how we told you we were working on ways to let you to express more with 140 characters?&quot; Twitter product manager Sasank Reddy said in an online post.</p>

<p>&quot;Now, when you reply to someone or a group, those @usernames won&rsquo;t count toward your tweet&#39;s 140 characters.&quot;<br />
Providing more room in tweets is seen as a way to encourage more use and sharing of pictures, videos and links.</p>

<p>The move is part of a push by Twitter to increase its user base and engagement, which have sputtered to the chagrin of investors. &quot;Our work isn&#39;t finished,&quot; Reddy said.</p>

<p>&quot;We&#39;ll continue to think about how we can improve conversations and make Twitter easier to use.&quot;</p>

<p>Twitter faces competition from Facebook and Instagram, and a trend of people opting to share content in video or picture formats instead of text.</p>

<p>(AFP)</p>


Twitter subtracts from the character count names of those being replied to in posts

Twitter began rolling out changes to let people pack more into tweets, subtracting from the character count names of those being replied to in posts. The latest software modification at the one-to-many messaging service comes about a year after Twitter set out to relax a 140-character limit set due to mobile phone text messaging constraints in place when Twitter launched in 2006. Twitter first announced plans to relax the limit a year ago, as part of an effort to bring in more members and make the platform easier to use. We're changing replies so that you have all 140 characters to express yourself. Learn more: https://t.co/PNWGilbmVd pic.twitter.com/cxBJohZc2Q — Twitter (@Twitter) March 30, 2017 "Remember how we told you we were working on ways to let you to express more with 140 characters?" Twitter product manager Sasank Reddy said in an online post. "Now, when you reply to someone or a group, those @usernames won’t count toward your tweet's 140 characters." Providing more room in tweets is seen as a way to encourage more use and sharing of pictures, videos and links. The move is part of a push by Twitter to increase its user base and engagement, which have sputtered to the chagrin of investors. "Our work isn't finished," Reddy said. "We'll continue to think about how we can improve conversations and make Twitter easier to use." Twitter faces competition from Facebook and Instagram, and a trend of people opting to share content in video or picture formats instead of text. (AFP)

You now have more space for your replies on Twitter

<p>Twitter is considering whether to build a premium version of its popular Tweetdeck interface aimed at professionals, said the company, raising the possibility that it could collect subscription fees from some users for the first time.</p>

<p>Like most other social media companies, Twitter since its founding 11 years ago has focused on building a huge user base for a free service supported by advertising. Last month it reported it had 319 million users worldwide.</p>

<p>But unlike the much-larger Facebook, Twitter has failed to attract enough in advertising revenue to turn a profit even as its popularity with US President Donald Trump and other celebrities makes the network a constant centre of attention.</p>

<p>Subscription fees could come from a version of Tweetdeck, an existing interface that helps users navigate Twitter.<br />
Twitter is conducting a survey &quot;to assess the interest in a new, more enhanced version of Tweetdeck,&quot; spokeswoman Brielle Villablanca said in a statement on Thursday.</p>

<p>She went on: &quot;We regularly conduct user research to gather feedback about people&#39;s Twitter experience and to better inform our product investment decisions, and we&#39;re exploring several ways to make Tweetdeck even more valuable for professionals.&quot;</p>

<p>There was no indication that Twitter was considering charging fees from all its users.</p>

<p>Word of the survey had earlier leaked on Twitter, where a journalist affiliated with the New York Times posted screenshots of what a premium version of Tweetdeck could look like.</p>

<p>That version could include &quot;more powerful tools to help marketers, journalists, professionals, and others in our community find out what is happening in the world quicker,&quot; according to one of the screenshots posted on the account @andrewtavani.</p>

<p>The experience could be ad-free, the description said.</p>

<p>Other social media firms, such as Microsoft&rsquo;s LinkedIn unit, already have tiered memberships, with subscription versions that offer greater access and data.</p>

<p>In the fourth quarter of 2016, Twitter posted the slowest revenue growth since it went public four years earlier, and revenue from advertising fell year-over-year. The company also said that advertising revenue growth would continue to lag user growth during 2017.</p>

<p>Financial markets speculated about a sale of Twitter last year, but no concrete bids were forthcoming.</p>

<p>(Reuters)</p>


Unlike the much-larger Facebook, Twitter has failed to attract enough in advertising revenue to turn a profit

Twitter is considering whether to build a premium version of its popular Tweetdeck interface aimed at professionals, said the company, raising the possibility that it could collect subscription fees from some users for the first time. Like most other social media companies, Twitter since its founding 11 years ago has focused on building a huge user base for a free service supported by advertising. Last month it reported it had 319 million users worldwide. But unlike the much-larger Facebook, Twitter has failed to attract enough in advertising revenue to turn a profit even as its popularity with US President Donald Trump and other celebrities makes the network a constant centre of attention. Subscription fees could come from a version of Tweetdeck, an existing interface that helps users navigate Twitter. Twitter is conducting a survey "to assess the interest in a new, more enhanced version of Tweetdeck," spokeswoman Brielle Villablanca said in a statement on Thursday. She went on: "We regularly conduct user research to gather feedback about people's Twitter experience and to better inform our product investment decisions, and we're exploring several ways to make Tweetdeck even more valuable for professionals." There was no indication that Twitter was considering charging fees from all its users. Word of the survey had earlier leaked on Twitter, where a journalist affiliated with the New York Times posted screenshots of what a premium version of Tweetdeck could look like. That version could include "more powerful tools to help marketers, journalists, professionals, and others in our community find out what is happening in the world quicker," according to one of the screenshots posted on the account @andrewtavani. The experience could be ad-free, the description said. Other social media firms, such as Microsoft’s LinkedIn unit, already have tiered memberships, with subscription versions that offer greater access and data. In the fourth quarter of 2016, Twitter posted the slowest revenue growth since it went public four years earlier, and revenue from advertising fell year-over-year. The company also said that advertising revenue growth would continue to lag user growth during 2017. Financial markets speculated about a sale of Twitter last year, but no concrete bids were forthcoming. (Reuters)

Twitter plans to introduce subscription-based option for first time

<p>Twitter Inc is considering whether to build a premium version of its popular Tweetdeck interface aimed at professionals, the company said on Thursday, raising the possibility that it could collect subscription fees from some users for the first time.</p>

<p>Like most other social media companies, Twitter since its founding 11 years ago has focused on building a huge user base for a free service supported by advertising. Last month it reported it had 319 million users worldwide.</p>

<p>But unlike the much-larger Facebook Inc, Twitter has failed to attract enough in advertising revenue to turn a profit even as its popularity with US President Donald Trump and other celebrities makes the network a constant centre of attention.</p>

<p>Subscription fees could come from a version of Tweetdeck, an existing interface that helps users navigate Twitter.</p>

<p>Twitter is conducting a survey &quot;to assess the interest in a new, more enhanced version of Tweetdeck,&quot; spokeswoman Brielle Villablanca said in a statement on Thursday.</p>

<p>She went on: &quot;We regularly conduct user research to gather feedback about people&#39;s Twitter experience and to better inform our product investment decisions, and we&#39;re exploring several ways to make Tweetdeck even more valuable for professionals.&quot;</p>

<p>There was no indication that Twitter was considering charging fees from all its users.</p>

<p>Word of the survey had earlier leaked on Twitter, where a journalist affiliated with the New York Times posted screenshots of what a premium version of Tweetdeck could look like.</p>

<p>That version could include &quot;more powerful tools to help marketers, journalists, professionals, and others in our community find out what is happening in the world quicker,&quot; according to one of the screenshots posted on the account @andrewtavani.</p>

<p>The experience could be ad-free, the description said.</p>

<p>Other social media firms, such as Microsoft Corp&#39;s LinkedIn unit, already have tiered memberships, with subscription versions that offer greater access and data.</p>

<p>In the fourth quarter of 2016, Twitter posted the slowest revenue growth since it went public four years earlier, and revenue from advertising fell year-over-year. The company also said that advertising revenue growth would continue to lag user growth during 2017.</p>

<p>Financial markets speculated about a sale of Twitter last year, but no concrete bids were forthcoming.</p>

<p>(Reuters)</p>


Twitter is conducting a survey 'to assess the interest in a new, more enhanced version of Tweetdeck,' spokeswoman Brielle Villablanca said

Twitter Inc is considering whether to build a premium version of its popular Tweetdeck interface aimed at professionals, the company said on Thursday, raising the possibility that it could collect subscription fees from some users for the first time. Like most other social media companies, Twitter since its founding 11 years ago has focused on building a huge user base for a free service supported by advertising. Last month it reported it had 319 million users worldwide. But unlike the much-larger Facebook Inc, Twitter has failed to attract enough in advertising revenue to turn a profit even as its popularity with US President Donald Trump and other celebrities makes the network a constant centre of attention. Subscription fees could come from a version of Tweetdeck, an existing interface that helps users navigate Twitter. Twitter is conducting a survey "to assess the interest in a new, more enhanced version of Tweetdeck," spokeswoman Brielle Villablanca said in a statement on Thursday. She went on: "We regularly conduct user research to gather feedback about people's Twitter experience and to better inform our product investment decisions, and we're exploring several ways to make Tweetdeck even more valuable for professionals." There was no indication that Twitter was considering charging fees from all its users. Word of the survey had earlier leaked on Twitter, where a journalist affiliated with the New York Times posted screenshots of what a premium version of Tweetdeck could look like. That version could include "more powerful tools to help marketers, journalists, professionals, and others in our community find out what is happening in the world quicker," according to one of the screenshots posted on the account @andrewtavani. The experience could be ad-free, the description said. Other social media firms, such as Microsoft Corp's LinkedIn unit, already have tiered memberships, with subscription versions that offer greater access and data. In the fourth quarter of 2016, Twitter posted the slowest revenue growth since it went public four years earlier, and revenue from advertising fell year-over-year. The company also said that advertising revenue growth would continue to lag user growth during 2017. Financial markets speculated about a sale of Twitter last year, but no concrete bids were forthcoming. (Reuters)

Twitter considering subscription-based option for first time in 11 years

<p>Twitter has said that it has suspended around 377,000 accounts during the final six months of 2016 for &quot;violation&nbsp;related to promotion of terrorism&quot;. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The revelation came as part of its semi-annual &quot;transparency report&quot;.</p>

<p>The report also said that the maximum number of requests to takedown posts came from Turkey.</p>

<p>It said that it wanted to &quot;shine a bright light&quot; on the requests as a threat to press freedom.</p>

<p>The micro-blogging website said that during the last six-months of 2016, it received 88 court orders and legal requests from around the world asking it to remove content posted by verified journalits. The highest number of such requests came form Turkey.</p>

<p>Twitter said that it had also stepped up efforts to rid the social networking website of content advocating political and religious violence. It is taking help from a software&nbsp;to spot such tweets instead of relying on government requests.</p>

<p>The revelations assume importance in light of increased pressure on social media websites like Twitter, Facebook and Google to fight online radicalisation by Islamist groups like Islamic State.</p>

<p>(WION with inputs from Reuters)</p>


The highest number of requests to takedown posts came from Turkey, Twitter said in a report

Twitter has said that it has suspended around 377,000 accounts during the final six months of 2016 for "violation related to promotion of terrorism". The revelation came as part of its semi-annual "transparency report". The report also said that the maximum number of requests to takedown posts came from Turkey. It said that it wanted to "shine a bright light" on the requests as a threat to press freedom. The micro-blogging website said that during the last six-months of 2016, it received 88 court orders and legal requests from around the world asking it to remove content posted by verified journalits. The highest number of such requests came form Turkey. Twitter said that it had also stepped up efforts to rid the social networking website of content advocating political and religious violence. It is taking help from a software to spot such tweets instead of relying on government requests. The revelations assume importance in light of increased pressure on social media websites like Twitter, Facebook and Google to fight online radicalisation by Islamist groups like Islamic State. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Twitter suspended 377,000 accounts last year for trying to promote extremism

<p>McDonald&#39;s apologised Thursday after it briefly posted on Twitter a blast criticising President Donald Trump, which the company blamed on a hack from an external source.</p>

<p>The quickly deleted tweet offered an uncharitable appraisal of Trump, saying, &quot;You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have Barack Obama back, also you have tiny hands.&quot;</p>

<p>The tweet was removed mid-morning Thursday soon after being posted to one of McDonald&#39;s official Twitter feeds, but not before being retweeted more than a thousand times and garnering plenty of attention in political and media circles.</p>

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<h5>The quickly deleted tweet offered an uncharitable appraisal of Trump, saying, &#39;You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have Barack Obama back, also you have tiny hands&#39;</h5>
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<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The quickly deleted tweet offered an uncharitable appraisal of Trump, saying, 'You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have Barack Obama back, also you have tiny hands'" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
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<p>&quot;Based on our investigation, we have determined that our Twitter account was hacked by an external source,&quot; said McDonald&#39;s spokeswoman Terri Hickey in a statement.</p>

<p>&quot;We took swift action to secure it, and we apologise this tweet was sent through our corporate McDonald&#39;s account.&quot;</p>

<p>Hacking has been a persistent problem in recent years with the growing influence of Twitter and other social media sites.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In April 2013, a hack of the Associated Press resulted in an erroneous post that the White House had been attacked, briefly sending US stocks markets down in a panic.</p>

<p>(AFP)</p>


McDonald's blamed the tweet on a hack by an 'external source'

McDonald's apologised Thursday after it briefly posted on Twitter a blast criticising President Donald Trump, which the company blamed on a hack from an external source. The quickly deleted tweet offered an uncharitable appraisal of Trump, saying, "You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have Barack Obama back, also you have tiny hands." The tweet was removed mid-morning Thursday soon after being posted to one of McDonald's official Twitter feeds, but not before being retweeted more than a thousand times and garnering plenty of attention in political and media circles. The quickly deleted tweet offered an uncharitable appraisal of Trump, saying, 'You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have Barack Obama back, also you have tiny hands' × "Based on our investigation, we have determined that our Twitter account was hacked by an external source," said McDonald's spokeswoman Terri Hickey in a statement. "We took swift action to secure it, and we apologise this tweet was sent through our corporate McDonald's account." Hacking has been a persistent problem in recent years with the growing influence of Twitter and other social media sites. In April 2013, a hack of the Associated Press resulted in an erroneous post that the White House had been attacked, briefly sending US stocks markets down in a panic. (AFP)

McDonald's apologises after tweet calling Trump 'disgusting excuse of a president'

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