Twitter’s new Verified service will include gold checks for companies, Elon Musk confirms

Engadget

Twitter plans to launch its updated Verified program next Friday with manual authentication and different colored check marks for different types of users, Elon Musk has tweeted. “Gold check for companies, grey check for government, blue for individuals (celebrity or not) and all verified accounts will be manually authenticated before check activates,” he said.

Musk previously stated that Twitter would “probably use [a] different color check for organizations than individuals.” However, this is the first time he’s revealed what those colors will likely be. It’s not clear if all verified users including government and industry will have to pay Twitter Blue fee of $8 per month.

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Apple and Google face gaming and mobile browser probe

BBC

Apple and Google’s dominance over cloud gaming and mobile browsers will be investigated by the UK’s competition regulator, it has announced.
Last year, a “market study” by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) concluded they had a “stranglehold” over operating systems, app stores and web browsers on mobile devices.

If the 18-month investigation finds an adverse effect on competition, the CMA can impose changes.

Both companies deny the accusations. CMA interim chief executive Sarah Cardell said it wanted to ensure UK:

• consumers received the best new mobile data services
• developers could invest in innovative new apps

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How retailers are reshaping the advertising industry

FT

Online shoppers hunting for televisions from the British retailer Argos this week will be inundated with Black Friday offers. Yet among the hundreds of options, an ultra high definition model from Toshiba stands out. That is because the Japanese electronics maker has paid a premium for prominent positioning. Argos will use the data it collects about purchasers to better target future adverts during shopping sessions. The arrangements that underpin such promotions have a relatively low profile — in some cases consumers are barely aware they exist — yet they are beginning to upend the global advertising industry.

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Police text 70,000 victims in UK’s biggest anti-fraud operation

BBC

Detectives have begun contacting 70,000 people suspected of being victims of a sophisticated banking scam.
The Metropolitan Police is sending text messages to mobile phone users it believes spoke with fraudsters pretending to be their bank.

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley described an “enormous endeavour” in gathering evidence after the discovery of an online fraud network. There have been more than 100 arrests so far, and one man has been charged.

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For shopping, phones are common and influencers have become a factor – especially for young adults

Pew Research Centre

From ordering household items to purchasing the latest fashions, the internet has reshaped how, when and where people can make purchases. At the same time, social media has become an important tool for consumers, with some Americans – particularly younger adults – following and turning to influencers for recommendations, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in July.

As the busiest shopping season looms, Americans have several ways to shop online, but smartphones have become a top way to do so. Roughly three-quarters of U.S. adults (76%) say they ever buy things online using a smartphone, while a somewhat smaller share (69%) say they ever make purchases via desktop or laptop computers. Far fewer Americans (28%) report ever buying things online on a tablet.

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How Big a Problem is Mobile Hacking for Businesses?

IoT News

Most businesses recognize that cyber security is a major talking point today, with the prospect of breaches leaving smaller organizations especially exposed to serious operational ramifications. This is especially true for businesses using IoT.

What gets overlooked in this conversation is the vulnerability of portable devices, so just how worried should modern companies be about mobile hacking, and what can they do to avoid it?

This year alone there has been a 500 percent rise in malware targeting mobile devices, with this malicious code designed to do everything from stealing private data to spying on all sorts of other activities that users get up to from day to day.

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Remote facial authentication on the rise for mobile banking

BizCommunity

According to a 2021 McKinsey report on digital banking, nearly nine in 10 consumers across emerging and developed markets are actively using digital banking.

Most of them are engaging with banking services through digital channels.

This has also accelerated the need for the secure digital onboarding of customers.

South Africa’s major banks have made massive inroads by using remote facial authentication. Three of the top five largest banks in the country are making use of the technological solutions for identity authentication offered by renowned South African fintech innovator, Iidentifii.

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Mobile Gambling in the U.S: The Right Way to Go

Telemedia Online

Money and other forms of cash are, quite simply, the only tools at our disposal to continue living in a civilized society. We need fundamental essentials such as food, water, clothes, and shelter not only to protect ourselves from the environment but also to provide our bodies with the nutrition, energy, and capabilities they need to operate properly and help us live. Without money, one has very limited or perhaps no access to these essentials, which transforms living into just surviving.

The significance of monetary wealth is widely acknowledged, which is particularly relevant considering the prominence of the welfare state as a component of society that exists to assist and support its citizens.

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China may still be top of the mobile game, but India is closing in

Pocket Gamer

It seems safe to say that as the numbers grow bigger in the mobile gaming market, so too do the upsets. Markets change position rapidly, companies rise and fall, and aside from a few key mainstays the ever-changing landscape is the only constant.

But if there’s one thing that may be a titanic shift for the mobile market, that’s the question of whether China will fall from its position as the largest mobile market in the world, with chief competitor India waiting in the wings to take its place.

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