Alyssa Milano is raising some very legitimate concerns amidst the Twitter Blue debacle that has ensued since the removal of all blue checks from the Bird app, per CEO Elon Musk‘s order.
As Twitter’s newest rules regarding the “verification” ticks leap into action, the Charmed actress pointed out a very specific gripe raising some very understandable safety concerns that may arise from this newly-acquired blue tick, namely, regarding defamation and identity theft. By not paying the “arbitrary fee,” – as Milano put it – public figures are inherently prone to having counterfeit accounts impersonating them. Without any insurance of safety for all those under the limelight, the actress asked whether Musk, and therefore Twitter, would be liable for any type of fraud.
The new nefarious rule involving the $8 fee for a splash of blue pixels went into fruition on April 20, with nearly every single account losing their guaranteed tick of legitimacy, with the exception of a few names. For one, the Twitter CEO has not allowed for a checkmark-less future for himself. Additionally, Musk also has not allowed a handful of public figures to lose this momentum of veracity — namely LeBron James, Stephen King, and William Shatner.
While the aforementioned names may be safe from any fraudulent activities involving their names, that is, unfortunately, not the case for most celebrities. As copycats and impersonator accounts keep attempting to gain a following on social media, the chance for success is a lot higher than previously. Anyone can buy a blue tick, with a fake name, as long as they have $8 and a phone number.
At the time of writing, the new rules set in place are still rather fresh, with only a handful of problems arising at the moment. With time, certainly, many more issues will continue to emerge as more and more accounts continue to profit from this boorish attempt at capitalizing safety measures.