Elon Musk has said X, previously known as Twitter, will fund the legal bills of any user ‘unfairly treated’ by an employer for their activity on the social media platform. Posting on the recently-rebranded site on Sunday, he added there would be ‘no limit,’ encouraging users to ‘please let us know’. Musk has been vocal about his commitment to freedom of speech in the past, once defining himself as a ‘free speech absolutist’. Shortly after acquiring Twitter, he tweeted: “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated”. The post has already received over 18,000 replies to his post, with Musk responding to just one so far from right-wing account ‘Libs of TikTok’. Chaya Raichik, who operates the account, claims US content creator Kara Lynne was fired by her former employer for following her and other right-wing accounts on Twitter. Reaching out to Lynne directly, Musk replied: “Kara, is that accurate?” The billionaire CEO’s interactions with the ‘Libs of TikTok’ account, noted for its anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ content, have been criticised in the past. In December, he was accused of amplifying anti-trans bigotry when he liked a tweet from them. Earlier this week X Corp, Musk’s firm that owns X, launched a lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). The move came after the group published research criticising the platform for an increase in hate speech under Musk’s leadership. X Corp has accused the CCDH “unlawful acts” to “improperly gain access to its data”. The not-for-proft organisation researches and campaigns against online hate, and is often cited by the press. In response to the lawsuit, CCDH founder and CEO Imran Ahmed said: “Elon Musk’s latest legal move is straight out of the authoritarian playbook – he is now showing he will stop at nothing to silence anyone who criticizes him for his own decisions and actions.” “CCDH has no intention of stopping our independent research – Musk will not bully us into silence.” Read More X marks the lawsuit: Elon Musk's social media company sues nonprofit highlighting site's hate speech Flashing ‘X’ sign removed from Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco Meta’s Twitter rival Threads sees steep drop in daily users by 80 per cent, report says Mark Zuckerberg reveals his 4,000 calorie diet and large McDonald’s order Meta’s Twitter rival Threads sees ‘steep drop in daily users by 80 per cent’ Twitter takes down giant ‘X’ sign on roof after a week following city investigation

Numerous subreddits shut down today to protest the controversial plan to charge for access to

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 20, 2023--

The BenQ TK860i ($1,799) is the latest addition to BenQ's TK800 series of home entertainment

Broadband customers could pay £150 more than they expected to over two years due to “unpredictable” mid-contract price rises, consumer group Which? has warned. Which? has called on regulator Ofcom to ban the practice altogether as it found that BT, EE, Plusnet, Shell Energy, TalkTalk and Vodafone customers could see increases of more than 8% on average in 2024 while Virgin Media customers could see rises of more than 10%, based on analysis of Bank of England inflation forecasts. Many of the biggest broadband firms – such as BT, EE, Plusnet, Shell Energy, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Vodafone – raise prices every April in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Retail Price Index (RPI) plus an additional 3%, 3.7% or 3.9%. Customers wanting to avoid these hikes can be charged punitive exit fees to leave their contract early. From working and school to online banking and social media, a good broadband and mobile connection is essential to everyday modern life Rocio Concho, Which? Based on average contract amounts from the Which? 2023 broadband survey; Virgin Media, BT and EE customers could see the biggest annual increases of £50.52, £43.68 and £43.68 respectively in the year from April 2024, the watchdog calculated. Shell Energy Broadband customers could see the smallest annual price hike of £27.16 on average. These hikes would come on top of the more than 14% mid-contract uplifts many consumers faced in 2023. Which? also calculated how much extra these two rounds of price hikes could cost a customer for each provider who took out a deal in January 2023 over the course of their 18 or 24-month contract. Based on average amounts from the Which? 2023 broadband survey, BT and EE customers who took out a contract in January 2023 could see some of the highest average price hikes of £147.43 and £147.31, while Vodafone and Plusnet customers could see rises of £122.38 and £117.87 respectively. TalkTalk customers could see a smaller hike of £76.09 on average over the course of shorter 18-month contracts. Shell Energy Broadband did not apply its 2023 inflation-linked price hikes of 12.5% to customers who joined from January to March 2023. However, if a Shell Energy customer joined before January 2023 then, based on average amounts from the 2023 broadband survey, they would pay an extra £45.27 a year from Spring 2023 to Spring 2024. Ofcom should also use their review to finally ban these unpredictable mid-contract price hikes that harm consumers and undermine competition Rocio Concho, Which? Virgin Media did not use inflation-linked price hikes in 2023 but some customers’ prices did increase by an average of 13.8% per cent due to ad hoc price rises, according to Which? According to Virgin Media, customers who signed up after November 2022 would not have faced the ad hoc price rise in Spring 2023. Those on a fixed-price promotional deal – like those offered to new customers – would also not have seen the price hikes take effect until after their deal ended. Which? argues that it is unfair for consumers to be signed up to deals that do not give them certainty about how much they can expect to pay over the course of their contract, and then face exit fees if they want to leave early. A survey by the group found that 78% of consumers believe that mid-contract price hikes are always unfair and that people overwhelmingly value pricing certainty for broadband contracts. Which? has launched The Right to Connect campaign calling for clearer and fairer pricing for telecoms customers and an end to unpredictable mid-contract price hikes. Ofcom is currently reviewing inflation-linked, mid-contract price rises and is due to publish its consultation in December. Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: “From working and school to online banking and social media, a good broadband and mobile connection is essential to everyday modern life. While we know that price changes are never welcome, against a backdrop of rising costs, increased usage and continued investment, we have openly and directly set out to customers that we are introducing inflation-linked price changes Virgin Media spokesman “That’s why it’s outrageous that unpredictable mid-contract price hikes have been allowed to continue in the telecoms industry for so long – especially when so many have been struggling to make ends meet during the cost-of-living crisis. Consumers must have certainty about the total cost of their contract. “Which? is calling on all providers to do the right thing and cancel 2024’s above inflation price hikes. “Ofcom should also use their review to finally ban these unpredictable mid-contract price hikes that harm consumers and undermine competition. “Consumers need to know exactly how much their contract will cost when they sign up.” We understand that price rises are never wanted nor welcomed but recognise them as a necessary thing to do given the rising costs our business faces BT spokesman A Virgin Media spokesman said: “We are always clear and transparent with customers about any price increases. We wrote directly to all customers who received a price rise this year to notify them of their exact increase, and gave them the right to cancel without penalty within 30 days if they wished. “While we know that price changes are never welcome, against a backdrop of rising costs, increased usage and continued investment, we have openly and directly set out to customers that we are introducing inflation-linked price changes from April next year. This widely used format will provide more certainty on when and how any future increases will occur while fuelling the investment required to ensure we keep providing the fast and reliable connectivity our customers rely on.” A BT Consumer spokeswoman said: “We understand that price rises are never wanted nor welcomed but recognise them as a necessary thing to do given the rising costs our business faces. “Our price rises are annual, contracted and transparent and we make this clear when customers sign up or renew their contract. With the average price increase just above £1 per week in 2023, and some of our customers exempt from the rise, we’re also doing all we can to ensure our services are accessible to the widest group of customers possible through our market leading social tariffs.” A TalkTalk spokesman said: “The preventable CPI-linked price rise in April 2023 was a direct result of Ofcom-regulated wholesale cost increases. In order to prevent the same thing happening next April, we are again calling on Ofcom to act and reduce the wholesale increases that lead to these price rises. “These are exceptional circumstances, and families and business across the UK need the regulator to act.” Read More Rise of AI chatbots ‘worrying’ after man urged to kill Queen, psychologist warns William hails ‘amazing’ eco-friendly start-up businesses Royal website subject to ‘denial of service attack’, royal source says TikTok finds and shuts down secret operation to stir up conflict in Ireland Spotify will not ban all AI-powered music, says boss of streaming giant Vehicle scam reports surged by 74% in the first half of 2023, says Lloyds Bank

Textbooks in Saudi Arabia have been changing. For years, researchers have been observing a gradual moderation on subjects ranging from gender roles to the promotion of peace and tolerance.

Artificial intelligence and facial recognition software are seen by some as the future of crime-fighting...

By Matt Tracy (Reuters) -U.S. bond investors are coming around to using technology more to trade fixed-income products, as they

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s cloud division has begun a round of job cuts that could reduce its staff

Soon you might be able to hum a few lines from that song you can’t

President Joe Biden wasn't planning to take questions on Thursday. His helicopter was waiting outside on the White House's South Lawn.

EA has officially announced its single player 'Black Panther' game.