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Musk’s tweet limits ‘extremely problematic’: expert

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When Elon Musk took over Twitter in October 2022, he said he wanted to turn the blue bird app into a “digital town square,” where different opinions could be debated.

But one expert says Musk’s vision for the app is starting to crumble after the tech billionaire recently announced temporary limits to how many tweets users can view on a daily basis.

“This is extremely problematic given the fact that this is how people communicate, this is how they get their information,” Ritesh Kotak, a Toronto-based technology and cybersecurity expert, told CTV News Channel on Sunday.

“Instead of this being an open digital town square, it seems like the walls are actually closing in.”

WHAT CHANGES WERE MADE?

Musk announced the new limitations in a tweet Saturday, saying “extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation” were to blame for the temporary measure.

Originally, he said verified Twitter accounts would be limited to reading 6,000 posts a day, unverified accounts would be limited to 600 posts a day and new unverified accounts would be limited to 300 posts a day.

Within a span of a few hours, Musk announced changes to those limits twice. He eventually gave verified accounts access to 10,000 tweets a day, unverified accounts access to 1,000 tweets a day, and new unverified accounts access to 500 tweets a day.

Kotak said he was shocked by the move.

“It is drastic. And it just came out of the blue,” he said.

Twitter also recently announced it would require users to have an account on the social media platform to view tweets, a move that Musk on Friday called a “temporary emergency measure.”

It is unclear how long these measures will be in place for.

The crackdown caused more than 7,500 people to report problems using the social media service at one point on Saturday, based on complaints registered on Downdetector, a website that tracks online outages. The #TwitterDown hashtag was also briefly trending in some parts of the world.

More than 60 users reported possible problems with Twitter as of Sunday afternoon, according to Downdetector, while 38 reports of possible problems with Tweetdeck were issued. By Monday afternoon, those figures dropped to 15 reports and four reports, respectively.

CTVNews.ca reached out to Twitter’s media division for comment, but received a smiling poop emoji in response.

WHAT IS DATA SCRAPING?

Data scraping is the automated process of extracting large amounts of data from websites or online sources.

Musk has been a vocal critic of organizations that scrape Twitter’s data for research or to train artificial intelligence programs including Microsoft and OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT. He blasted such organizations on Friday.

“Almost every company doing AI, from startups to some of the biggest corporations on Earth, was scraping vast amounts of data,” Musk said in a tweet.

“It is rather galling to have to bring large numbers of servers online on an emergency basis just to facilitate some AI startup’s outrageous valuation.”

‘IT CAUSED ISSUES,’ EXPERT SAYS: HOW THE RECENT CHANGES IMPACT CANADIANS

The recent changes have received backlash from many users, some of which say they plan to flock to platforms such as Mastodon in an effort to boycott Twitter.

Limiting access to tweets restricts people’s access to critical information, Kotak said, pointing to extreme weather events as one scenario where people may rely on Twitter to find out what is happening in their area and how to respond effectively.

“It caused issues (on Saturday), especially given the fact that we did have some extreme weather across the country … and a lot of people who do get their news from Twitter were actually unable to see tweets because they exceeded their limit,” he said.

Although it was viewed as controversial, Canadians were also first informed about some of the details of the Nova Scotia mass shooting — the deadliest shooting in Canadian history — by the RCMP on Twitter back in April 2020.

Some users have also expressed displeasure over the fact that Musk has begun to monetize the platform by allowing those who pay a monthly fee to access more tweets as part of the company’s Twitter Blue subscription service.

Twitter Blue also gives users access to other features, such as a verified blue checkmark badge, as well as the ability to edit and write longer tweets. It was introduced in December 2022.

“stop making twitter pay to win,” one user said in a tweet on Saturday, which has raked up more than 52,000 likes and 2,017 retweets.

The tweet limits have sparked outrage among media professionals as well, since they heavily rely on social media platforms like Twitter to gather and disseminate information in such cases.

“I think Twitter was probably the most open platform where any individual (could) go to … just be able to read particular tweets, see what people are saying … We didn’t have all these restrictions,” Kotak said.

“This has changed in the last little bit since Elon Musk took over.”

With files from The Associa

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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