A watchdog group has found that the terrorist group Hezbollah and other U.S.-sanctioned organizations have paid and ticked accounts on X, the Elon Musk-owned social network, and currently Twitter.com. It was found that the domain exists.
The Tech Transparency Project (TTP), a non-profit organization that criticizes Big Tech companies, said in a report Wednesday that “X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has paid premium to the accounts of two U.S. leaders. We provide paid services.” designated terrorist groups and several other organizations sanctioned by the U.S. government. ”
After buying Twitter for $44 billion, Mr. Musk began charging users for checkmarks, which previously were meant to confirm that an account was famous and authentic. “In addition to checkmarks meant to lend legitimacy, ”, the Technology Transparency Project report said.
The Technology Transparency Project suggests that X may be in violation of US sanctions. “Accounts identified by TTP include two accounts believed to belong to the supreme leader of Lebanon-based Hezbollah, as well as accounts belonging to Iranian and Russian state media,” the report said. “The fact that X requires users to pay monthly or annual fees for premium services suggests that X is conducting financial transactions in these accounts, which may violate U.S. sanctions. There is a sex.”
Some of the accounts were verified before Musk bought Twitter, but verification was a free service at the time. Musk's decision to charge for the check mark means that Company X is “providing premium paid services to sanctioned entities,” which raises “new legal issues.” may occur, the Technology Transparency Project said.
Report Details 28 Checked Accounts
Musk's X charges $1,000 a month for a Verified Organizations subscription and last month base layer For $200 per month. For individuals, the checked X premium tier costs $8 or $16 per month.
While it is possible for U.S. companies to receive government authorization to engage in certain transactions with sanctioned entities, it seems unlikely that X has such authorization. X rules Users are expressly prohibited from purchasing X Premium if they are “not a person authorized to do business under the United States and other applicable economic sanctions and trade compliance laws.”
The Tech Transparency Project announced that it had discovered a total of 28 “verified” accounts associated with sanctioned individuals or entities. These include individuals and groups listed as Specially Designated Nationals by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
“Of the 28 X accounts identified by TTP, 18 were verified after April 1, 2023, when X began requiring accounts to subscribe to paid plans to get the checkmark. “The remaining 10 were traditional verified accounts that required payment,” the organization wrote, “requiring a subscription to keep the checkmark.” I discovered that the reply contained an ad.”
X has issued: statement Wednesday: “X has implemented a robust and secure approach to our monetization capabilities, complying with our legal obligations and adhering to independent reviews by our payment providers. Some of the accounts listed are not directly named on the sanctions list, while others may have a check mark on their account without receiving services that are subject to sanctions. Our team will review the report and take action as necessary. We are always committed to maintaining a safe, secure, and compliant platform.”
X removes some check marks
According to the TTP report, an account with the handle @SH_NasrallahEng appears to be linked to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The account had a checkmark when I first checked early Wednesday, but it has since been deleted.
“This account, which has 93,600 followers, posts English-language Hezbollah messages and memes that disparage Israel and the United States. The account was created in October 2021 and verified in November 2023. “In the same month, Nasrallah threatened to further escalate the war between Israel and Hamas,” the report said.
