Tech
Twitter seeks end to US oversight of data use as FTC’s Lina Kahn goes before House committee
Twitter wants a federal court to end an order imposed by the Federal Trade Commission that limits its data security practices.
The FTC has been watching the company for years since Twitter agreed to a 2011 consent order alleging serious data security lapses. But the agency’s concerns spiked with the tumult that followed Elon Musk’s Oct. 27 takeover of the company.
In March it was disclosed that the FTC was investigating Musk’s mass layoffs at Twitter and trying to obtain his internal communications as part of ongoing oversight into the social media company’s privacy and cybersecurity practices, according to documents described in a congressional report.
Twitter paid a $150 million penalty in May 2022, about five months before Musk’s takeover, for violating the 2011 consent order. An updated version established new procedures requiring the company to implement an enhanced privacy-protection program as well as beefing up information security.
X Corp., now Twitter’s corporate name, has filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, for a protective order and relief from the consent order.
In the filing, Twitter asks the court to “rein in an investigation that has spiraled out of control and become tainted by bias, and to terminate a misfit consent order that no longer can serve any proper equitable purpose.”
The filing states that the FTC has issued 16 demand letters to X Corp. since Musk’s takeover of Twitter, in comparison to approximately 28 demand letters it issued in the decade-plus period it oversaw Twitter’s compliance with the prior consent order.
The order seeks a stay that would prevent the FTC from deposing Musk.
“X Corp. has responded to this avalanche of demands as best it can, responding promptly to FTC inquiries and producing more than 22,000 documents to date,” the filing states. “The FTC’s overreach has now culminated in a demand to depose Mr. Musk, who is not, and never has been, a party to the consent order.”
A hearing date is listed for Aug. 17, but the filing states that a hearing may occur on such other date and time as the court may order.
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN NEWS) – Social media wasn’t supposed to be like this. Endless noise, manipulated algorithms, harassment buried under engagement metrics, and creators fighting just to be seen: it’s a landscape that rewards chaos over connection. Byio, a new platform built by Black women, is trying something radically different: slowing things down, putting people first, and making digital space intentional again.
Byio stands for “By Invite Only,” and it means that literally. You can’t just sign up. You join through a personal invite and each user only gets two. This isn’t exclusivity for the sake of hype. It’s a form of cultural quality control. Growth isn’t measured in downloads; it’s measured in alignment. The people behind Byio are building a digital space where values aren’t an afterthought.
Led by founder and CEO R.M. Easterly, Byio was created out of frustration not just with broken moderation systems or paywalled reach, but with the deeper issue of who gets to shape online culture. Black creators and communities have been disproportionately impacted by platform policies that erase or ignore them. Byio doesn’t just give them a voice — it gives them the blueprint.
What sets Byio apart isn’t a flashy feature list, though it has those: livestreaming, built-in monetization, creator gifting, e-commerce tools all built into the platform from day one
. But the real innovation is philosophical. Moderation isn’t only reactive. AI prompts are used to encourage users to pause before posting content that might escalate conflict. It’s not censorship — it’s digital self-awareness baked into the UX.
The platform launched in a staggered rollout known as the “TG10s” — the first 10,000 users who will help shape the culture. Discord is the current front porch of that community, with conversations already driving feedback and ideas. Some early supporters are even buying physical Byio stickers — not as access passes, but as expressions of belief in the mission.
And people are watching closely. Critics and newcomers alike are asking the right questions: Can a platform grow and still stay grounded? Will the AI moderation tools respect nuance and cultural context? Will creator monetization be fair and accessible? So far, the answers aren’t in grand promises but in the quiet, deliberate pace of how Byio is rolling out.
Compared to giants like Instagram, TikTok, or X, where the incentive structure leans heavily toward viral content and ad revenue, Byio feels like a platform pulling in the opposite direction. Even newer alternatives like Mastodon or Bluesky may tout decentralization, but they haven’t solved moderation or cultural bias at scale. Byio’s approach — tight-knit, human-led, AI-supported, culturally conscious — isn’t just unusual. It’s practically rebellious.
Byio isn’t for everyone. It’s not trying to be. But for creators, communities, and everyday users who’ve felt erased, misrepresented, or simply exhausted by the internet as it stands. This platform may be the start of something that doesn’t just look different, but feels different.
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Kareen Kennedy is the Assistant Editor for Florida National News
kareen.kennedy@floridanationalnews.com
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. (FNN) – Florida National News has learned that NASA’s latest mission, TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites), has officially launched and will soon begin studying Earth’s magnetic field to better understand how it protects the planet from the harmful effects of space weather.
NASA Launches TRACERS to Study Earth’s Magnetic Shield
The TRACERS mission lifted off Wednesday at 11:13 a.m. PDT (2:13 p.m. EDT) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The twin spacecraft will fly closely together—just 10 seconds apart—making over 3,000 measurements in a single year to provide a detailed picture of magnetic reconnection, a process that impacts space weather and Earth’s atmosphere.
“NASA is proud to launch TRACERS to demonstrate and expand American preeminence in space science research and technology,” said acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy. “This mission will yield breakthroughs that will advance our pursuit of the Moon, and subsequently, Mars.”
Mission controllers successfully made contact with the second spacecraft three hours after separation, and a four-week commissioning period will now begin before science operations commence.
TRACERS’ Role in Understanding Magnetic Reconnection
TRACERS will orbit the polar cusp, an open region in Earth’s magnetic field near the North Pole. This area is critical for studying how solar wind—a stream of charged particles from the Sun—interacts with Earth’s magnetic field. The mission will investigate magnetic reconnection, where magnetic field lines from the Sun and Earth snap and realign, releasing intense bursts of energy.
These interactions cause charged particles to cascade into Earth’s atmosphere, affecting satellites, communication systems, and power grids. TRACERS will give scientists unprecedented insight into how fast and intensely these processes occur.
“The successful launch of TRACERS is a tribute to many years of work by an excellent team,” said David Miles, TRACERS principal investigator at the University of Iowa. “We’re excited to explore the dynamic processes driving space weather.”
Small Satellites Hitch a Ride with TRACERS
Alongside TRACERS, NASA deployed three additional small satellite missions:
Athena EPIC: A demonstration satellite showing how modular SmallSat designs can lower costs and speed up deployment while measuring Earth’s outgoing longwave radiation.
PExT: A polylingual experimental terminal using software-defined radios to connect across commercial and government networks—similar to cell phone roaming, but in space.
REAL: A CubeSat investigating how high-energy electrons are scattered from the Van Allen radiation belts into Earth’s atmosphere, helping to protect astronauts and spacecraft.
Each mission contributes valuable data and technology demonstrations for future space operations.
