X has once again been accepting payments from people associated with terrorist groups and other entities subject to US sanctions, according to a new report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP). According to the report, X has not only accepted payments in exchange for its premium service, but in some cases has provided an "ID verified" badge.The report once again questions whether X is complying with US sanctions that restrict companies' ability to do business with individuals and entities that have been deemed a security threat. Last year, the TTP published a similar report that identified more than two dozen verified accounts that were affiliated with sanctioned groups, including leaders of Hezbollah and accounts associated with Houthis in Yemen. Many of those checkmarks were subsequently revoked, with X promising to "maintain a safe, secure and compliant platform."But some of those accounts simply "resubscribed" to X's premium service or created fresh accounts, according to the report, which is based on research between November 2024 and April 2025. "TTP's new investigation found an array of blue checkmark accounts for U.S.-sanctioned individuals and organizations, including several that appeared to simply re-subscribe to premium service or create new accounts after their old ones were restricted or removed by X," the report says. "Moreover, some of the accounts were 'ID verified,' meaning X conducted an additional review to confirm their identity."The report once again highlights verified accounts associated with members of Hezbollah, including one of its founders, as well as Houthi officials who "are making heavy use of X for messaging and propaganda." The son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi, whose account was previously suspended, also currently has a blue check, as does Raghad Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti, one of Saddam Hussein's daughters. Both have been under sanctions for more than a decade.X didn't respond to a request for comment on the report. In response to last year's report, the company said it would "take action if necessary." However, it's unclear if the company changed any of its practices regarding who can pay for premium subscriptions.If a small team can use X's public facing search tools to identify these accounts, it's unclear why a multi-billion-dollar company cannot do the same," Michelle Kuppersmith, the executive director for Campaign for Accountability, the watchdog group that runs TTP said in a statement. It's one thing to allow terrorists to have a voice on the platform; it's another entirely to allow them to pay for a more effective megaphone."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-is-once-again-selling-checkmarks-to-us-sanctioned-groups-report-says-194352896.html?src=rss

X users can no longer send encrypted messages on the platform. The company said in an update that it's "pausing" the feature "while we work on making some improvements." Users will still be able to view previously-sent encrypted chats, but won't be able to send any new ones.Up to now, encrypted DMs have been available only on messages between verified users who are mutual or who have previously accepted DMs from each other. Screenshots of the feature from X's help center labeled it as "early access." (Notably, there were a number of other important caveats to X's encryption, even when it was working, including the fact that encryption was never available for group chats, multimedia messages or metadata .)It's unclear when the feature will be available again or if the "pause" has anything to do with "XChat," the company's yet-to-be-launched chat platform. X employees have been dropping hints about XChat, which will reportedly feature encrypted direct messages, for some time. Screenshots from leakers suggest XChat could have additional security features like PIN-protected chats.Officially, though, X hasn't revealed much about XChat or what's going on with the current version of encrypted DMs. X's in-app inbox was one of the features that experienced numerous issues last week after a site-wide outage - possibly due to a fire at an Oregon facility used by the company - caused days of technical problems for the service. Updates on the company's developer platform page indicate some of those issues have yet to be resolved.X didn't respond to a request for comment.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-is-pausing-encrypted-dms-215750222.html?src=rss

France is investigating whether X has manipulated its algorithm and engaged in "fraudulent data extraction." Prosecutors are looking into if the social media platform engaged in election interference. They launched the investigation on July 11, following reports in January. It has labelled X as an "organized gang."X's Global Government Affairs account issued a scathing breakdown of what it calls France's "politically-motivated criminal investigation" and its refusal to cooperate.The French government has requested that X provide its "recommendation algorithm and real-time data about all user posts on the platform." France is using multiple experts to look at the information. One is David Chavalarias, director of the Paris Complex Systems Institute (ISC-PIF), who leads the "Escape X" campaign. Another expert Maziyar Panahi, an AI engineer at ISC-PIF, worked on research projects alongside Chavalarias "that demonstrate open hostility towards X."Unsurprisingly, X is not happy about the involvement of Chavalarias and Panahi, claiming it could mean a predetermined outcome. As a result, X is refusing to provide French authorities with the requested access.In the statement, X said the investigation, led by parliamentarian Eric Bothorel, "egregiously undermines X's fundamental right to due process and threatens our users' rights to privacy and free speech. Mr Bothorel has accused X of manipulating its algorithm for 'foreign interference' purposes, an allegation which is completely false."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/france-launches-criminal-probe-of-xs-alleged-algorithm-manipulation-123017920.html?src=rss