Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Twitter Moves To Ban Crypto Ads (techcrunch.com)

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the tough-luck dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Twitter is the latest social service to boot out cryptocurrency advertisers. The company told Reuters it will be launching a new policy this week to prohibit the advertising of token sales/initial coin offerings (ICOs), and crypto wallet services. Ads for cryptocurrency exchanges will also be banned -- with some limited exceptions. Facebook announced a ban in January, while Google said earlier this month that it will ban them from June. In a statement, the company said, "We are committed to ensuring the safety of the Twitter community. As such, we have added a new policy for Twitter Ads relating to cryptocurrency. Under this new policy, the advertisement of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and token sales will be prohibited globally."

11 of 58 comments (clear)

  1. Re:In our great capitalist system by sqorbit · · Score: 2

    Maybe not, but there are more than enough alternatives for advertising.

    --
    Sent from my TARDIS
  2. "ICOs, token sales and crypto-wallet services". by XXongo · · Score: 4, Informative
    They're banning "initial coin offerings (ICOs), token sales and crypto-wallet services".

    ICOs are, basically, scams right from the start: they are people saying "hey, give me money and I will give you a token that has collectable value because I say it does" (but probably not). Token sales may or may not be scams. Wallets shouldn't be scams per se, but I guess a lot of people advertising wallets may not include the fine print "this wallet has a backdoor so I can haz yr koinz.".

    FWIW, the Reuters article under discussion is actually here. I don't know why the link in the article is to a reprint instead of to the article. https://www.reuters.com/articl...

    1. Re:"ICOs, token sales and crypto-wallet services". by SirSlud · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "Other than widespread acceptance of the NYSE?"

      You say that as if it's a minor thing. Financial markets exist, and they are heavily regulated with lots of oversight. On occasion they fail, can be subject to (legal to illegal) manipulation, can host bad actors, but that's a far cry from "it's all the same shit".

      --
      "Old man yells at systemd"
    2. Re:"ICOs, token sales and crypto-wallet services". by war4peace · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The main difference is that the gold peddlers on TV are regulated, you can file a complaint if you get scammed, and they will be in deep shit. Much of this doesn't apply to ICOs because they are not asking for money, they're asking for cryptocurrency.
      They say "here's a bullshit token we've conjured out of nothing, we say it's going to have some value, and we say its current value is X and will certainly grow, send us 1 ETH (Ethereum) minimum for Y tokens".
      You basically send a virtual coin and receive some virtual tokens. None of this is properly covered by law because none of those cryptocurrencies have an intrinsic value or a value which is backed up by something. They're just funny money.

      Disclaimer: I am a cryptocurrency believer, I think the cryptomarket will evolve and become part of our lives in a few years, but right now it's a Wild West and ICOs should be outright banned until they are properly covered by law.

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
  3. Mod msmash -1 Troll by Sloppy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Stop calling them "crypto ads." It's terribly misleading. Your fucking troll headline makes it sound like Twitter doesn't want users talking about GnuPG or something like that.

    msmash, since you kept the submitter anonymous but did the posting, you're accountable and we assume you are the person who decided to make the headline misleading. That means you're either a malicious piece of shit, or too stupid to be trying to cover tech stories. Either way, we're all hoping your boss notices and then does something about you.

    --
    As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
    1. Re:Mod msmash -1 Troll by Sloppy · · Score: 2

      So who's the odd one out?

      Maybe me, since I did get pretty pissed off, except..

      Yet somehow everyone understands what's being talked about except one person: you.

      ..wrong! Totally and completely wrong! People only understood it with the summary; the headline alone definitely tricked lots of people, because it's ambiguous, but the usual meaning of the word is other than what he meant. And headlines shouldn't do that.

      Headline: war4peace's ass gets rammed!

      Summary: war4peace was surprised to come home today to find out that his wife had sold his donkey and bought him a brand new Dodge Ram pickup truck. "I was speechless," war4peace explained, "I thought we were going to talk about major purchases, but she just went ahead and did it. Even so, this should really help out around the farm!"

      See the problem? The headline was bullshit. It's just a question of whether it was done deliberately, vs incidentally due to Slashdot's editors' apathy, since they have abandoned the idea of even slightly trying.

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  4. Crypto by JD-1027 · · Score: 2

    Can we be a little more precise with the headline editors? The term "crypto" is not, and should never be, solely associated with Crypto-currencies.

  5. Editorial by MAXOMENOS · · Score: 2

    Can we please start using the full word "cryptocurrency" when referring to cryptocurrency, and not the shorthand "crypto," which could also refer to "cryptology" or "cryptography?" A ban on cryptography advertising would be cause for alarm for every IT professional. A ban on cryptocurrency, not so much. Much obliged.

    --
    Finding God in a Dog
  6. Why would you ban cryptography? by shaitand · · Score: 2

    Sounds like a terrible idea.

  7. Does "crypto" now only mean currency? by cybersquid · · Score: 2
    When I see "crypto" I think "cryptography".

    (Perhaps because that's what it has mostly meant up to now.)

    Then again, language does evolve. Are we seeing such a change, is the headline just lazy?

  8. Re: "ICOs, token sales and crypto-wallet services" by GrumpySteen · · Score: 2

    For simplicity, we'll ignore the difference between common and preferred stock. In general, owning a share entitles you to a share of any dividend the company pays. If the share is not a non-voting series, it also entitles you to a vote on the appointment of people to the board of directors and any other company matters that the board decides to hold a vote on. Finally, if the company goes bankrupt, it entitles you to a share of what's left over, if anything, after creditors and bondholders have been paid (usually nothing is left since companies tend to dig themselves into deep debt before bankruptcy).