Twitter confirms launch of monetised system for Tweets
- Twitter today confirmed earlier reports that it is testing a new Tip Jar feature.
- The new addition utilises a number of different payment platforms, including PayPal, Venmo, Patreon, Cash App and Bandcamp (all region-dependent).
- “Tip Jar is an easy way to support the incredible voices that make up the conversation on Twitter,” the company wrote in a blog post confirming the news.
- Currently available on both iOS and Android, the feature is designed to give users a way to quickly tip creators with a few taps.
- Tip Jar is beginning to roll out to select groups of users, including non-profits, journalists, experts and creators.
- The company has further plans to roll it out to additional groups and languages.
- For the full story, select here.
Teenagers spending over 35 hours a week online in UK
- Teenagers in the UK and other developed countries are spending the equivalent of an average adult working week online, research has found.
- Analysis by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that the total online consumption of 15-year-olds living in OECD countries rose from an average of 21 hours a week in 2012 to 35 hours per week in 2018.
- The UK was slightly above the OECD average, with 15-year-olds spending 36 hours a week online.
- Denmark topped the table, with teenagers spending 47 hours a week online, while in the US they spent 41 hours a week on the internet.
- The data was harvested from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) study – a detailed global education survey which takes place every three years.
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Oldham man jailed after grooming and exploiting teenage school child
- A man who groomed and sexually exploited a young schoolgirl has been jailed.
- The offender, aged 23, from Oldham, first began talking to his young victim online in March 2020, Manchester Crown Court heard.
- The conversations were sexual in nature from the very beginning, police learnt after seizing the offender’s phone.
- The offender arranged to meet the child on multiple occasions, during which time he engaged in sexual activity.
- On Tuesday (May 4), he was sentenced to 28-months imprisonment and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order
- For the full story, select here.
Smart cities prepared to deal with multiple hacking attempts
- Smart cities will be a target for hackers, and councils need to be prepared, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned.
- Sensors and internet-connected devices may improve urban services, but could also be used by hackers and foreign states to disrupt or spy.
- The NCSC – an arm of GCHQ – has published guidance for local authorities on how to secure what they call “connected places”.
- They warn that critical public services will need to be protected from disruption.
- Sensitive data also needs to be secured from being stolen in large volumes.
- For the full story, select here.