Techcrunch blog!: Platform formerly known as Twitter rolls out government ID-based account verification

Friday, September 15, 2023

No one likes being impersonated, especially not Elon Musk. In today's top story, X adds another layer to account verification for paid users by taking a government ID. Those who choose to take part will also get "prioritized support," but we're not sure yet what that means. Hope you can picture it. In another change, X's crowdsourced fact-checking system will now let contributors consider opposing viewpoints. Open up that mind.

Meanwhile, in our continued Apple coverage, we've got a few goodies for you:

Image Credits: Rudzhan Nagiev / Getty Images

More top reads

With the prevalence of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation constantly stamping down on social media, it was only a matter of time before TikTok was in the spotlight. The Irish Data Protection Commission found that the video sharing platform failed to keep children's data safe and fined it €345 million (~$379 million). See what else TikTok has to do.

What's missing from Guy Kawasaki's 10-slide deck?: A year ago, the average pitch deck was 19 slides. Now it's 16. Find out what influenced Kawasaki's even smaller 10-slide deck. (TC+)

Alternative funding: Koo, India's answer to Twitter, seeks a strategic partner. Here's why it's switching gears.

Enterprise vs. startups: In this matchup, we pit large companies against small ones to figure out where the opportunity for web3 adoption will be greatest. Let’s get ready to rumble. (TC+)

On board: Former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar joins Roblox's board. Go inside Roblox's strategy on this.

Pitch Deck Teardown: Why make your own educational content when AI can do it for you? Look inside Learn.xyz's $3M seed deck. (TC+)

False: Despite some media reports, Meta says it is not planning ads on WhatsApp. Learn why Meta continues to resist.

Get your motor runnin': Revel, the car subscription startup from Spain, raises $123 million to take its business up a gear. Not familiar with what a car subscription is? We've got you covered.

You pick the adventure: Arm showed that the IPO market has legs, but not every tech company is a chip company. Is Instacart's new IPO price range justified? You be the judge. (TC+)

Image Credits: Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images / Getty Images

Scale your startup with the best in customer support

Grab your pass to TC Disrupt 2023

Join 10,000 startup leaders in San Francisco at TechCrunch Disrupt, taking place September 19–21. Last-minute passes are still available. Save 15% with code DC. Register now!

8 Latin American VCs share why they're brimming with optimism about the region's startups

For our latest survey, Anna Heim interviewed eight VCs who are active in Latin America to learn more about the sectors they’re watching, why the region has stopped minting unicorns, and “what would it take to reignite foreign investors' interest”:

Denis Pedreira, Latin America Investments, Prosus Ventures
Lolita Taub, general partner, Ganas Ventures
Geraldo Melzer, founding partner, ABSeed Ventures
Julio Vasconcellos, managing partner, Atlantico
Rodrigo Vieira, partner, Caravela Capital
Nathan Lustig, managing partner, Magma Partners
Marta Cruz, co-founder and managing partner, NXTP Ventures
Hernán Haro, founder and general partner, MrPink VC

TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code "DC" for a 15% discount on an annual subscription.

8 Latin American VCs share why they're brimming with optimism about the region's startups image

Image Credits: Rafael Paulucci / Getty Images

On the pods

Before flying out for TechCrunch Disrupt, the Equity crew unpacked the latest from Divvy Homes. We also discuss companies we wish would just go public already (we’re looking at you, Databricks and Lime), the quick grocery delivery market, and transparency in venture capital. Listen here.