Twitter handle @X taken without payment, offered merch in compensation

Twitter recently rebranded itself to X. As part of this new identity, the social media platform also migrated to a new @X handle. However, according to the latest news, this handle was stolen from its original owner. The social media company offered no cash compensation for taking away the preferred and assigned handle. Instead, the user was presented some free merch and an HQ tour, the former of which he denied.

The original user with the @x handle had almost 27,000 followers in the account. The person joined the platform in March 2007 and has continuously held the handle. The Twitter account is protected, so not everyone can view the shared content.

After @Dexerto shared this mishap on the platform, multiple users trolled the social media platform and its billionaire CEO, Elon Musk. Most of the comments have criticized this anti-user move.

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Twitter wasn't wholly wrong in taking away the original @x account

It is worth noting that the new social media platform's policies dictate that handles should be at least four characters long. Thus, any old user with a single-letter handle should alter their username, or their account will be terminated. Therefore, it is no surprise that all accounts with @a, @b, @c, and other handles have already been suspended.

While it is unknown why the account @x was still active until recently, it might have been the last user whose handle wasn't terminated until recently. This probably answers every major criticism the platform has faced so far from unveiling the mishap.

Another major argument can be the violation of trademarks. When Twitter rebranded as X, it got a new trademark. Since, according to company policy, anyone with a legal trademark can take away a registered handle on the platform, the Elon Musk-led company might have done so without breaking the rules and regulations.

The multitude of arguments regarding the rebranding (Image via X)

However, some have countered this point: Microsoft allegedly owns the trademark for a stylized X since 2018, and Elon Musk had previously claimed that a letter cannot be trademarked. This has led to further arguments and counterarguments on the platform.