A new report has said social media site X, erstwhile Twitter, may be violating US sanctions by accepting payments for premium accounts linked to Hezbollah and other sanctioned groups.
A Tech Transparency Project (TTP) investigation has found that X is providing premium, paid services to accounts for two leaders of a US-designated terrorist group and several other organisations sanctioned by Washington DC, read the TTP website.
TTP identified more than a dozen X accounts for US-sanctioned entities that had a blue checkmark, which requires the purchase of a premium subscription. Along with the checkmarks, which are intended to confer legitimacy, X promises a variety of perks for premium accounts, including the ability to post longer text and videos and greater visibility for some posts, read the website.
The accounts identified by TTP include two that apparently belong to the top leaders of Lebanon-based Hezbollah, and others belonging to Iranian and Russian state-run media, read the website.
Two other accounts for US-sanctioned entities, Iran’s Press TV and Russia’s Tinkoff Bank, had gold checkmarks.
Who owns X?
X, formerly known as Twitter, was purchased by tech billionaire Elon Musk in 2022.
He rebranded it as ‘X’.