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dipsydoodle

(42,239 posts)
Fri Jan 27, 2012, 06:17 AM Jan 2012

Twitter to selectively 'censor' tweets by country

Twitter has announced that it now has the technology to selectively block tweets on a country by country basis.

In its blog, Twitter said it could "reactively withhold content from users in a specific country".

But it said the removed content would be available to the rest of the world. Previously when Twitter deleted a tweet, it would disappear worldwide.

>

In its blog post, Twitter explained that its international growth meant entering countries "that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression", citing France or Germany which ban pro-Nazi content as examples.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16753729

6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Twitter to selectively 'censor' tweets by country (Original Post) dipsydoodle Jan 2012 OP
has twitter made a profit yet? Syrinx Jan 2012 #1
Revenue sources dipsydoodle Jan 2012 #5
Lovely another nail in the coffin of Free speech. Justice wanted Jan 2012 #2
Not sure about that ... Nihil Jan 2012 #6
selective censorship limpyhobbler Jan 2012 #3
Cue competition Auggie Jan 2012 #4

dipsydoodle

(42,239 posts)
5. Revenue sources
Fri Jan 27, 2012, 07:27 AM
Jan 2012

In July 2009, some of Twitter's revenue and user growth documents were published on TechCrunch after being illegally obtained by Hacker Croll. The documents projected 2009 revenues of $400,000 in the third quarter and $4 million in the fourth quarter along with 25 million users by the end of the year. The projections for the end of 2013 were $1.54 billion in revenue, $111 million in net earnings, and 1 billion users.[2] No information about how Twitter planned to achieve those numbers was published. In response, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone published a blog post suggesting the possibility of legal action against the hacker.[98]

On April 13, 2010, Twitter announced plans to offer paid advertising for companies that would be able to purchase "promoted tweets" to appear in selective search results on the Twitter website, similar to Google Adwords' advertising model. As of April 13, Twitter announced it had already signed up a number of companies wishing to advertise including Sony Pictures, Red Bull, Best Buy, and Starbucks.[99][100]

The company generated $45 million in annual revenue in 2010, after beginning sales midway through that year. The company operated at a loss through most of 2010. Revenues were forecast for $100 million to $110 million in 2011.[93] Users' photos can generate royalty-free revenue for Twitter, with an agreement with WENN being announced in May 2011.[101] In June 2011, Twitter announced it would offer small businesses a self serve advertising system.[102]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

Other than mention of here on DU I probably wouldn't even know it existed. I'm pretty much old skool - two bean cans connected by a piece of string.

 

Nihil

(13,508 posts)
6. Not sure about that ...
Fri Jan 27, 2012, 09:38 AM
Jan 2012

> Lovely another nail in the coffin of Free speech.

The OP seems to be about Twitter putting new functionality into place in order to
*retain* "free speech" for the world at large even if said speech is in fact illegal
in the filtered country.

i.e., if a pro-Nazi holocaust-denying tweet was posted, the only people who would
not be able to see that "free speech" would be the ones *in* the country whose
laws prohibit such hateful language whilst the rest of the world would be able to
delight in reading & writing it.

Surely that's a win for the "free speech regardless of how hateful the speech is" group?


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