Senator Ed Markey speaks on the Back the Thrive Agenda press convention on the Longworth Office Building on September 10, 2020 in Washington, DC.
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Sen. Ed Markey demanded solutions from Twitter proprietor Elon Musk about its new verification and impersonation insurance policies Friday after a Washington Post reporter efficiently arrange a pretend verified account pretending to be the Massachusetts Democrat.
Twitter appeared to have paused the $7.99/month Twitter Blue verification program shortly after the Post ran its check as impersonations of celebrities and types proliferated throughout the platform. Twitter has lately misplaced key privateness and content material moderation executives.
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But previous to the pause, the Post was capable of arrange a Twitter deal with known as “@realEdMarkey” utilizing “a spare iPhone, a credit card and a little creativity.” The account obtained a blue verified checkmark, though Markey already has two professional verified accounts. Even although the blue test is meant to be a characteristic of the paid Twitter Blue, the Post reporter discovered that Twitter mentioned the pretend Markey account was verified “because it’s notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category.”
“Safeguards such as Twitter’s blue checkmark once allowed users to be smart, critical consumers of news and information in Twitter’s global town square,” Markey wrote in his letter to Musk. “But your Twitter takeover, rapid and haphazard imposition of platform changes, removal of safeguards against disinformation, and firing of large numbers of Twitter employees have accelerated Twitter’s descent into the Wild West of social media.”
Markey requested Musk to reply by November 25 about Twitter’s course of for issuing the blue checkmarks, how his impersonation was allowed by Twitter and the way any new deliberate verification will work sooner or later.
“Allowing an imposter to impersonate a U.S. Senator on Twitter is a serious matter that you need to address promptly,” Markey wrote.
Twitter didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
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