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Nowadays, millions of people around the world create YouTube channels and publish videos for diverse purposes like recreation, knowledge-sharing, experience-sharing, brand promotion, and earning. Hackers target successful channels which may waste the time, passion, and hard work of talented YouTubers. However, YouTube channels can be protected from hackers, by following a few simple steps. Let’s find out the ways to ensure a YouTube channel’s security. 14 Effective Tips to Protect YouTube Channel’s Security and Prevent Hacking Create Dedicated Google Accounts Multiple YouTube channels can be created using one Google account. Though it saves time, it is the least secure way to manage multiple YouTube channels. If a hacker gains access to that specific Google account, all YouTube channels connected to that account may get hacked. Therefore, it is recommended to create a separate Google account for each YouTube channel to prevent hacking. Opening a YouTube channel with one’s regular Google account can be risky too. However, if someone’s YouTube channel is created using his or her regular Google ID, then it would be wise to switch the YouTube channel to a separate Google account. Read More: Somoy TV regains control of YouTube channel after it got hacked Keep the email ID Private Many people have a tendency to use the same email address for several related online business accounts. For instance, many Youtube channel owners create business-related accounts with the same Gmail IDs that have been used to create their primary YouTube channels. This practice enhances the risks of hacking. When one uses an email address on any other website, there is a high risk of a breach of privacy and security. As hackers may attempt to access the email address, the Google account may be in danger. Having said that, a YouTube channel owner or manager should never divulge the email address (which is used to manage a YouTube account) to anyone or anywhere. Set a Strong Password There is a great chance of being hacked if one uses the same password across multiple apps, websites, and online platforms. A hacker can access someone’s Google account by obtaining the password from a less secure website where the user has previously applied it. Read More: YouTube Affiliate Marketing: Tips to build a successful channel One should use different passwords for each website one registers with and each account one creates. A unique and strong password needs to be created while opening a new channel under a dedicated Google account. The passwords should be stored somewhere safe; it can be saved in memory or documents. Under no circumstances, the password should be shared with anyone else or reused again. To assure security to a higher level, encryption programs can be used to encrypt the password and save it safely digitally. To decode the password from its encrypted form, all it needs is to remember the decrypt private key. Only the Google account’s real owner can interpret the original password because it is encrypted with a secret key. Use Password Managers Carefully Password managers can store passwords safely in one place. However, relying on password manager apps blindly can be risky. Not every password manager app or tool is secured. Still, today, storing passwords offline is the best way to preserve a YouTube channel's Google account password safely.  Read More: How to Increase YouTube subscribers for free If the YouTube account’s manager wants to sync and store across multiple devices, the Google Password Manager can be used. This default feature of Chrome browser has lots of facilities. Chrome Password Manager notifies the account holder if any password gets compromised. Furthermore, offline passwords can be imported into Google Password Manager. Before using a third-party password manager, don’t forget to check reviews in different forums, and communities about any security breach news. Change Account Password Regularly It is crucial to routinely change the passwords of Google accounts. There is always a danger that one’s credentials can be exposed online or on the dark web. If someone uses the same password for a very long time and it is accidentally disclosed online, he or she may not find time or scope to protect the Google account and YouTube channel from hacking. Read More: Best YouTube Channels to Learn English One can create their own highly safe password using a combination of numbers, symbols, small letters, and capital letters. Different apps and software can be used to generate strong and secure passwords randomly.  Use Two Factor Authentication Two-factor authentication (2FA) is the top-level protection one can give to one’s Google account apart from the password. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google (Alphabet Inc.), has recently revealed his trust in 2FA as the best measure to protect his accounts. If someone’s YouTube channel’s dedicated Google account is not secured with a 2FA, it is high time for the channel owner to enable it. One can easily step up the Google account security with the Authenticator app from Google. It’s recommended to use a dedicated app and not your mobile number for 2FA. Hackers might clone your SIM card and get access to your 2FA codes if they already have access to your password. Read More: Top YouTube Movie Channels to Watch Full Length Movies Online Free When 2FA is enabled on a Google account, for every signing attempt, the system will verify the confirmation code sent on the account owner’s primary phone. Thus, hackers will fail to hack that Google account even if they somehow get the password.

As lawmakers debate whether to ban TikTok nationwide, its Chinese parent company has introduced a new app that's already getting some traction. The app, called Lemon8, is likely to face some of the same scrutiny as TikTok, which has been dogged by claims the Chinese government could force its parent company ByteDance to hand over U.S. user data or push misinformation on the platform. TikTok maintains that hasn't happened. And it's attempting to convince lawmakers it can keep user data safe. Meanwhile, ByteDance is pressing ahead with its expansion plans. Here's what you need to know about the company's new app: WHAT IS LEMON8? Lemon8 is a photo-based app that resembles a mixture of Instagram and Pinterest, and is sprinkled with videos that look like the ones posted on TikTok. Social marketing experts say the app is also reminiscent of the Chinese social media and e-commerce giant Xiaohongshu, which translates to "little red book." Like TikTok, Lemon8's main feed features a "following" section that lets users look at content from creators they follow, as well as a "For You" section that recommends other posts. It also segments posts under different categories, like fashion, beauty and food, and allows users to explore content in other ways. Similar to TikTok and other social media sites, Lemon8 collects user data, such as IP address, browsing history, device identifiers and other information. Both the Apple and Google Play app stores list its owner as Heliophilia Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based company that shares the same address as ByteDance and TikTok. HOW POPULAR IS IT? Lemon8 was first launched in Asian markets in 2020 and has already made headway in countries like Thailand and Japan, with roughly 7.4 million and 5 million downloads respectively, according to the app analytics company data.ai. It was introduced in the U.S. in February with little fanfare, but all that changed when media organizations started paying closer attention and some TikTok influencers began promoting it. As of Sunday, the app had 290,000 downloads in the U.S., the vast majority of which happened in late March, according to data.ai. It's also listed as one of the most popular apps on Apple's app store. Nicla Bartoli, the vice president of sales at Influencer Marketing Factory, said ByteDance reached out to her company in late February and gave a lengthy presentation about the app and how influencers can use it. She said the agency, which connects brands with influencers, is recommending that influencers try out the app but isn't doing the same with brands since Lemon8's user base is still relatively small. It also remains to be seen if the app will take off more organically or flop. The last five years have been littered with social media platforms that got a lot of hype, only to vanish in the end, said Brendan Gahan, partner and chief social officer at the creative agency Mekanism. He pointed to examples like BeReal and Clubhouse, which garnered a lot of attention in the past two years before users turned their attention elsewhere. "Social app success is difficult to achieve and harder to maintain," Gahan said. WHAT HAS BYTEDANCE SAID ABOUT THE APP? ByteDance did not reply to a request for an interview about how it plans to grow Lemon8. But the company's general counsel Erich Andersen noted in an interview with the Associated Press at a cybersecurity conference last week that it will continue to develop the app. "We're obviously going to do our best with the Lemon8 app to comply with U.S. law and to make sure we do the right thing here," said Andersen, who also serves as TikTok's general counsel. "But I think we got a long way to go with that application — it's pretty much a startup phase." As part of that work, ByteDance is already seeking job applicants for a few U.S.-based roles that will help grow the app's partnerships with influencers on beauty, food, health and other topics. WHAT ELSE IS BYTEDANCE DOING? Another app owned by ByteDance, called CapCut, is also listed on Apple's app store as one of the most popular apps in the U.S. CapCut markets itself as an "all-in-one" video editing tool that allows users to cut or speed up their content, and do other things like add filters and music. Data.ai, the app analytics company, said that app was released globally in April 2020, roughly a year after it was introduced in China. As of Sunday, the group said the editing tool had been downloaded 60 million times in the U.S. and 940 million globally. ARE LAWMAKERS ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT THE OTHER APPS? There is support for a bipartisan bill in the Senate, called the RESTRICT Act, that does not call out TikTok but would give the Commerce Department power to review and potentially restrict foreign threats to technology platforms. But it has faced some pushback from privacy advocates and ring-wing commentators who argue the legislation is too vague and could be abused. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, who sponsored the bill along with Republican Sen. John Thune, said in a prepared statement that the legislation would make it easier to go after other risky apps like Lemon8. "For too long, our government has been playing a game of Whac-A-Mole when it comes to addressing the various foreign technology threats popping up all around us," said Warner, D-Va. "The RESTRICT Act would establish a risk-based, intelligence-informed process to evaluate and mitigate the risks posed by tech from adversarial nations, whether that be Huawei, TikTok, Lemon8, or the next viral technology product pushed by an authoritarian nation."  

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg today (March 23, 2023) announced the launching of a new WhatsApp desktop app for Windows. “Now you can make E2E encrypted video calls with up to 8 people and audio calls with up to 32 people,” Zuckerberg posted on his verified Facebook profile. In a recent blog post, Meta said: “We’ll continue to increase these limits over time so you can always stay connected with friends, family, and coworkers.” The tech giant also announced that its instant messaging app for Windows has got a revamped look with new features. Read More: Meta slashes another 10,000 jobs “The new WhatsApp app for Windows will load faster and is built with an interface similar to the mobile version of the app,” the blog post reads. “We’ve made improvements to device linking and better syncing across multiple devices,” Meta said. To avail the new features, the users have to install the latest update of the WhatsApp Windows desktop app. Once updated, A call option in the chat box – similar to the call icon available in WhatsApp app on Android or iOS – will be visible to the users Meta also announced the new Mac desktop version of the app, which is currently in beta testing. Read More: WhatsApp Communities: Here’s what the latest feature offers Prioritizing the privacy of the users in mind, WhatsApp has rolled out a new feature that gives group admins more control over their group privacy. “As more people join communities, we want to give group admins more control over their group privacy, so we’ve built a simple tool that gives admins the ability to decide who is able to join a group,” Meta said in another blog post.

TikTok has become one of the world's most popular social media platforms, with millions of users generating billions of views daily. The app provides a unique opportunity for people to connect with others, showcase their talents, and even make money. With its unique feature to create and share short videos by adding a few texts, graphics, and music, the platform  Let's find out the most effective ways to make money on TikTok in 2023. 9 Best Ways to Make Money on TikTok in 2023 Developing Videos for TikTok Making interesting and shareable movies might be one of the simplest ways to earn money on TikTok. When you have built up a sizable audience, you can begin to monetize your material by forming partnerships with companies in exchange for paid adverts or sponsored articles. Suppose you want your TikTok videos to be successful. In that case, you should utilize popular music, interact with the people who follow you, and produce fresh material on a continuous basis. This is normally the first stage for all the other ways to make money on TikTok. You must make lots of videos to grow your audience. The larger the audience, the more potential for earning money will create. Read Money: How to Earn Money from YouTube Channel Marketing Based on Influence You may also earn money on TikTok by working with businesses and becoming an influencer if you have a huge audience engaged with your content. Brands are continuously seeking prominent users on TikTok to cooperate with so that they may advertise their goods or services to a larger audience and reach more people. You may make direct contact with businesses, or you can utilize platforms that are specifically designed for influencer marketing. TikTok Live TikTok Live is a tool that gives users the ability to stream live videos to their respective followers. Going live allows you to interact with your audience in real time, increasing the likelihood that you will win presents that can afterward be traded in for monetary compensation. Read More: How to Earn Money from Instagram Make sure to connect with your viewers, answer any questions they may have, and keep your broadcast exciting and entertaining if you want to get the most out of TikTok Live.

TikTok’s CEO met Tuesday with European Union officials about strict new digital regulations in the 27-nation bloc as the Chinese-owned social media app faces growing scrutiny from Western authorities over data privacy, cybersecurity and misinformation. In meetings in Brussels, Shou Zi Chew and four officials from the EU’s executive Commission discussed concerns ranging from child safety to investigations into user data flowing to China, according to European readouts from two of the meetings and tweets from a third. TikTok is wildly popular with young people but its Chinese ownership has raised fears that Beijing could use it to scoop up user data or push pro-China narratives or misinformation. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. Read more: Congress moves to ban TikTok from US government devices U.S. states including Kansas, Wisconsin, Louisiana and Virginia have moved to ban the video-sharing app from state-issued devices for government workers, and it also would be prohibited from most U.S. government devices under a congressional spending bill. Fears were stoked by news reports last year that a China-based team improperly accessed data of U.S. TikTok users, including two journalists, as part of a covert surveillance program to ferret out the source of leaks to the press. There are also concerns that the company is sending masses of user data to China, in breach of stringent European privacy rules. EU data protection watchdogs in Ireland have opened two investigations into TikTok, including one on its transfer of personal data to China. “I count on TikTok to fully execute its commitments to go the extra mile in respecting EU law and regaining trust of European regulators," Vera Jourova, the commissioner for values and transparency, said after her meeting with Chew. “There cannot be any doubt that data of users in Europe are safe and not exposed to illegal access from third-country authorities." Caroline Greer, TikTok's director of public policy and government relations, said on Twitter that it was a “constructive and helpful meeting.” “Online safety & building trust is our number one priority,” Greer tweeted. The company has said it takes data security “incredibly seriously" and fired the ByteDance employees involved in improperly accessing user data. Read more: Competition with TikTok: Facebook parent Meta reports revenue down Jourova said she also grilled Chew about child safety, the spread of Russian disinformation on the platform and transparency of paid political content. Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, who's in charge of competition and antitrust matters, met with Chew to “review how the company is preparing for complying with its obligations under the European Commission’s regulation, namely the Digital Services Act and possibly under the Digital Markets Act." The Digital Services Act is aimed at cleaning up toxic content from online platforms and the Digital Markets Act is designed to rein in the power of big digital companies. They also discussed privacy and data transfer obligations in reference to recent news reports on “aggressive data harvesting and surveillance in the U.S.,” the readout said. Chew also met with Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders and Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson. Reynders tweeted that he “insisted on the importance” of TikTok fully complying with EU privacy rules and cooperating with the Irish watchdog. “We also took stock of the company’s commitments to fight hate speech online and guarantee the protection of all consumers, including children,” he said. Chew is scheduled to hold a video chat with Thierry Breton, the commissioner for digital policy, on Jan. 19.

The public school district in Seattle has filed a novel lawsuit against the tech giants behind TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat, seeking to hold them accountable for the mental health crisis among youth. Seattle Public Schools filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court. The 91-page complaint says the social media companies have created a public nuisance by targeting their products to children. It blames them for worsening mental health and behavioral disorders including anxiety, depression, disordered eating and cyberbullying; making it more difficult to educate students; and forcing schools to take steps such as hiring additional mental health professionals, developing lesson plans about the effects of social media, and providing additional training to teachers. “Defendants have successfully exploited the vulnerable brains of youth, hooking tens of millions of students across the country into positive feedback loops of excessive use and abuse of Defendants’ social media platforms,” the complaint said. “Worse, the content Defendants curate and direct to youth is too often harmful and exploitive ....” Meta, Google, Snap and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday. While federal law — Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — helps protect online companies from liability arising from what third-party users post on their platforms, the lawsuit argues that provision does not protect the tech giants' behavior in this case. “Plaintiff is not alleging Defendants are liable for what third-parties have said on Defendants’ platforms but, rather, for Defendants’ own conduct,” the lawsuit said. “Defendants affirmatively recommend and promote harmful content to youth, such as pro-anorexia and eating disorder content." Also Read: Musk says he can't get fair trial in California, wants Texas The lawsuit says that from 2009 to 2019, there was on average a 30% increase in the number of Seattle Public Schools students who reported feeling “so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row" that they stopped doing some typical activities. The school district is asking the court to order the companies to stop creating the public nuisance, to award damages, and to pay for prevention education and treatment for excessive and problematic use of social media. While hundreds of families are pursuing lawsuits against the companies over harms they allege their children have suffered from social media, it's not clear if any other school districts have filed a complaint like Seattle's. Internal studies revealed by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen in 2021 showed that the company knew that Instagram negatively affected teenagers by harming their body image and making eating disorders and thoughts of suicide worse. She alleged that the platform prioritized profits over safety and hid its own research from investors and the public.

Elon Musk has urged a federal judge to shift a trial in a shareholder lawsuit out of San Francisco because he says negative local media coverage has biased potential jurors against him. Instead, in a filing submitted late Friday — less than two weeks before the trial was set to begin on Jan. 17 — Musk's lawyers argue it should be moved to the federal court in the western district of Texas. That district includes the state capital of Austin, which is where Musk relocated his electric car company, Tesla, in late 2021. The shareholder lawsuit stems from Musk's tweets in August 2018 when he said he had sufficient financing to take Tesla private at $420 a share — an announcement that caused heavy volatility in Tesla's share price. Read more: Over half of 17.5mn Twitter users who voted say Musk should step down as CEO In a victory for the shareholders last spring, Judge Edward Chen ruled that Musk’s tweets were false and reckless. If moving the trial isn’t possible, Musk’s lawyers want it postponed until negative publicity regarding the billionaire’s purchase of Twitter has died down. “For the last several months, the local media have saturated this district with biased and negative stories about Mr. Musk,” attorney Alex Spiro wrote in a court filing. Those news items have personally blamed Musk for recent layoffs at Twitter, Spiro wrote, and have charged that the job cuts may have even violated laws. The shareholders' attorneys emphasized the last-minute timing of the request, saying, “Musk’s concerns are unfounded and his motion is meritless.” “The Northern District of California is the proper venue for this lawsuit and where it has been actively litigated for over four years,” attorney Nicholas Porritt wrote in an email. The filing by Musk's attorneys also notes that Twitter has laid off about 1,000 residents in the San Francisco area since he purchased the company in late October. Read more: Journalist suspensions widen rift between Twitter and media “A substantial portion of the jury pool ... is likely to hold a personal and material bias against Mr. Musk as a result of recent layoffs at one of his companies as individual prospective jurors — or their friends and relatives — may have been personally impacted,” the filing said. Musk has also been criticized by San Francisco’s mayor and other local officials for the job cuts, the filing said.

Elon Musk is asking Twitter’s users to decide if he should stay in charge of the social media platform after acknowledging he made a mistake Sunday in launching new speech restrictions that banned mentions of rival social media websites. In yet another drastic policy change, Twitter had announced that users will no longer be able to link to Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon and other platforms the company described as “prohibited.” But the move generated so much immediate criticism, including from past defenders of Twitter's new billionaire owner, that Musk promised not to make any more major policy changes without an online survey of users. “My apologies. Won’t happen again,” Musk tweeted, before launching a new 12-hour poll asking if he should step down as head of Twitter. “I will abide by the results of this poll." The action to block competitors was Musk's latest attempt to crack down on certain speech after he shut down a Twitter account last week that was tracking the flights of his private jet. The banned platforms included mainstream websites such as Facebook and Instagram, and upstart rivals Mastodon, Tribel, Nostr, Post and former President Donald Trump's Truth Social. Twitter gave no explanation for why the blacklist included those seven websites but not others such as Parler, TikTok or LinkedIn. Read more: Journalist suspensions widen rift between Twitter and media Twitter had said it would at least temporarily suspend accounts that include the banned websites in their profile — a practice so widespread it would have been difficult to enforce the restrictions on Twitter's millions of users around the world. Not only links but attempts to bypass the ban by spelling out “instagram dot com” could have led to a suspension, the company said. A test case was the prominent venture capitalist Paul Graham, who in the past has praised Musk but on Sunday told his 1.5 million Twitter followers that this was the “last straw” and to find him on Mastodon. His Twitter account was promptly suspended, and soon after restored as Musk promised to reverse the policy implemented just hours earlier. Musk said Twitter will still suspend some accounts according to the policy but “only when that account’s (asterisk)primary(asterisk) purpose is promotion of competitors.” Twitter previously took action to block links to Mastodon after its main Twitter account tweeted about the @ElonJet controversy last week. Mastodon has grown rapidly in recent weeks as an alternative for Twitter users who are unhappy with Musk’s overhaul of Twitter since he bought the company for $44 billion in late October and began restoring accounts that ran afoul of the previous Twitter leadership's rules against hateful conduct and other harms. Musk permanently banned the @ElonJet account on Wednesday, then changed Twitter's rules to prohibit the sharing of another person’s current location without their consent. He then took aim at journalists who were writing about the jet-tracking account, which can still be found on other social media sites, alleging that they were broadcasting “basically assassination coordinates.” He used that to justify Twitter's moves last week to suspend the accounts of numerous journalists who cover the social media platform and Musk, among them reporters working for The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Voice of America and other publications. Many of those accounts were restored following an online poll by Musk. Then, over the weekend, The Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz became the latest journalist to be temporarily banned. She said she was suspended after posting a message on Twitter tagging Musk and requesting an interview. Read more: Twitter suspends journalists who wrote about owner Elon Musk Sally Buzbee, The Washington Post's executive editor, called it an “arbitrary suspension of another Post journalist” that further undermined Musk’s promise to run Twitter as a platform dedicated to free speech. “Again, the suspension occurred with no warning, process or explanation — this time as our reporter merely sought comment from Musk for a story,” Buzbee said. By midday Sunday, Lorenz's account was restored, as was the tweet she thought had triggered her suspension. Musk’s promise to let users decide his future role at Twitter through an unscientific online survey appeared to come out of nowhere Sunday, though he had also promised in November that a reorganization was happening soon. Musk was questioned in court on Nov. 16 about how he splits his time among Tesla and his other companies, including SpaceX and Twitter. Musk had to testify in Delaware’s Court of Chancery over a shareholder’s challenge to Musk’s potentially $55 billion compensation plan as CEO of the electric car company. Musk said he never intended to be CEO of Tesla, and that he didn’t want to be chief executive of any other companies either, preferring to see himself as an engineer instead. Musk also said he expected an organizational restructuring of Twitter to be completed in the next week or so. It’s been more than a month since he said that. In public banter with Twitter followers Sunday, Musk expressed pessimism about the prospects for a new CEO, saying that person “must like pain a lot” to run a company that “has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy.” “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor,” Musk tweeted.

Twitter is once again attempting to launch its premium service, a month after a previous attempt failed. The social media company said Saturday it would let users buy subscriptions to Twitter Blue to get a blue checkmark and access special features starting Monday. Read more: Top EU official warns Musk: Twitter needs to protect users from hate speech, misinformation The blue checkmark was originally given to companies, celebrities, government entities and journalists verified by the platform. After Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in October, he launched a service granting blue checks to anyone willing to pay $8 a month. But it was inundated by imposter accounts, including those impersonating Musk's businesses Tesla and SpaceX, so Twitter suspended the service days after its launch. The relaunched service will cost $8 a month for web users and $11 a month for iPhone users. Twitter says subscribers will see fewer ads, be able to post longer videos and have their tweets featured more prominently. Read more: Musk says granting 'amnesty' to suspended Twitter accounts

Now that he’s back on Twitter, neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin wants somebody to explain the rules. Anglin, the founder of an infamous neo-Nazi website, was reinstated Thursday, one of many previously banned users to benefit from an amnesty granted by Twitter's new owner Elon Musk. The next day, Musk banished Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, after he posted a swastika with a Star of David in it. “That's cool," Anglin tweeted Friday. “I mean, whatever the rules are, people will follow them. We just need to know what the rules are.” Ask Musk. Since the world’s richest man paid $44 billion for Twitter, the platform has struggled to define its rules for misinformation and hate speech, issued conflicting and contradictory announcements, and failed to full address what researchers say is a troubling rise in hate speech. As the “ chief twit ” may be learning, running a global platform with nearly 240 million active daily users requires more than good algorithms and often demands imperfect solutions to messy situations — tough choices that must ultimately be made by a human and are sure to displease someone. A self-described free speech absolutist, Musk has said he wants to make Twitter a global digital town square. But he also said he wouldn't make major decisions about content or about restoring banned accounts before setting up a “ content moderation council ” with diverse viewpoints. He soon changed his mind after polling users on Twitter, and offered reinstatement to a long list of formerly banned users including ex-President Donald Trump, Ye, the satire site The Babylon Bee, the comedian Kathy Griffin and Anglin, the neo-Nazi. And while Musk's own tweets suggested he would allow all legal content on the platform, Ye's banishment shows that's not entirely the case. The swastika image posted by the rapper falls in the “lawful but awful” category that often bedevils content moderators, according to Eric Goldman, a technology law expert and professor at Santa Clara University law school. Read more: Top EU official warns Musk: Twitter needs to protect users from hate speech, misinformation While Europe has imposed rules requiring social media platforms to create policies on misinformation and hate speech, Goldman noted that in the U.S. at least, loose regulations allow Musk to run Twitter as he sees fit, despite his inconsistent approach. “What Musk is doing with Twitter is completely permissible under U.S. law,” Goldman said. Pressure from the EU may force Musk to lay out his policies to ensure he is complying with the new law, which takes effect next year. Last month, a senior EU official warned Musk that Twitter would have to improve its efforts to combat hate speech and misinformation; failure to comply could lead to huge fines. In another confusing move, Twitter announced in late November that it would end its policy prohibiting COVID-19 misinformation. Days later, it posted an update claiming that “None of our policies have changed.” On Friday, Musk revealed what he said was the inside story of Twitter's decision in 2020 to limit the spread of a New York Post story about Hunter Biden's laptop. Twitter initially blocked links to the story on its platform, citing concerns that it contained material obtained through computer hacking. That decision was reversed after it was criticized by then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Facebook also took actions to limit the story's spread. The information revealed by Musk included Twitter's decision to delete a handful of tweets after receiving a request from Joe Biden's campaign. The tweets included nude photos of Hunter Biden that had been shared without his consent — a violation of Twitter's rules against revenge porn. Instead of revealing nefarious conduct or collusion with Democrats, Musk's revelation highlighted the kind of difficult content moderation decisions that he will now face. “Impossible, messy and squishy decisions” are unavoidable, according to Yoel Roth, Twitter's former head of trust and safety who resigned a few weeks into Musk's ownership. While far from perfect, the old Twitter strove to be transparent with users and steady in enforcing its rules, Roth said. That changed under Musk, he told a Knight Foundation forum this week. “When push came to shove, when you buy a $44 billion thing, you get to have the final say in how that $44 billion thing is governed,” Roth said. While much of the attention has been on Twitter’s moves in the U.S., the cutbacks of content-moderation workers is affecting other parts of the world too, according to activists with the #StopToxicTwitter campaign. “We’re not talking about people not having resilience to hear things that hurt feelings,” said Thenmozhi Soundararajan, executive director of Equality Labs, which works to combat caste-based discrimination in South Asia. “We are talking about the prevention of dangerous genocidal hate speech that can lead to mass atrocities.” Read more: Musk says granting 'amnesty' to suspended Twitter accounts Soundararajan's organization sits on Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council, which hasn’t met since Musk took over. She said “millions of Indians are terrified about who is going to get reinstated,” and the company has stopped responding to the group’s concerns. “So what happens if there’s another call for violence? Like, do I have to tag Elon Musk and hope that he’s going to address the pogrom?” Soundararajan said. Instances of hate speech and racial epithets soared on Twitter after Musk's purchase as some users sought to test the new owner's limits. The number of tweets containing hateful terms continues to rise, according to a report published Friday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a group that tracks online hate and extremism. Musk has said Twitter has reduced the spread of tweets containing hate speech, making them harder to find unless a user searches for them. But that failed to satisfy the center's CEO, Imran Ahmed, who called the rise in hate speech a “clear failure to meet his own self-proclaimed standards." Immediately after Musk’s takeover and the firing of much of Twitter’s staff, researchers who previously had flagged harmful hate speech or misinformation to the platform reported that their pleas were going unanswered. Jesse Littlewood, vice president for campaigns at Common Cause, said his group reached out to Twitter last week about a tweet from U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene that alleged election fraud in Arizona. Musk had reinstated Greene's personal account after she was kicked off Twitter for spreading COVID-19 misinformation. This time, Twitter was quick to respond, telling Common Cause that the tweet didn't violate any rules and would stay up — even though Twitter requires the labeling or removal of content that spreads false or misleading claims about election results. Twitter gave Littlewood no explanation for why it wasn’t following its own rules. “I find that pretty confounding,” Littlewood said. Twitter did not respond to messages seeking comment for this story. Musk has defended the platform's sometimes herky-jerky moves since he took over, and said mistakes will happen as it evolves. “We will do lots of dumb things," he tweeted. To Musk’s many online fans, the disarray is a feature, not a bug, of the site under its new ownership, and a reflection of the free speech mecca they hope Twitter will be. “I love Elon Twitter so far," tweeted a user who goes by the name Some Dude. “The chaos is glorious!”