Twitter takes @X handle from original user Gene X Hwang without warning after rebranding
By Ryan General
July 27, 2023
Twitter’s rebranding as X caused one Twitter user to lose their account handle without prior warning or financial compensation.
The account formerly known as X: The social media giant took the handle @X from owner Gene X Hwang, who associated the account with his corporate photography and videography studio, Orange Photography.
X simply reassigned the handle to itself without reaching out to negotiate with Hwang.
While Hwang expressed surprise at the move, he noted that he would have been open to discussing the matter if X had approached him.
“It would have been nice for them to compensate for it since it did have a lot of value to me, but things are what they are,” he told TechCrunch. “Maybe I should ask for the bird from the sign since they were dismantling that yesterday too.”
Mishandled handle: According to Hwang, he eventually received a letter from X explaining that the @X account is now affiliated with the company and that he would be assigned a new handle.
The company assured him that all his data, including followers and following data, would be transferred to the new handle. As compensation, X offered Hwang a selection of merchandise and the opportunity to tour X’s headquarters.
He has since accepted the outcome and even tweeted about the situation from his new handle, @x12345678998765.
“All’s well that ends well,” he wrote.
The company formerly known as Twitter: The X rebranding has faced other issues, including the company’s failure to secure the intellectual property rights to the “X” brand.
Since entities like Microsoft and Meta also hold claims to various “X” trademarks, the move could result in future legal challenges. Despite adopting the new “X” logo, the company also has yet to fully update its website and application.
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