Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins/Futurism. Source: DoubleSpeed/Getty Images
In October, stories broke about an AI startup called DoubleSpeed making roundBacked by tech venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, DoubleSpeed offers customers a unique service: access to a massive phone farm that can be used to operate hundreds of AI-generated social media accounts,
Now, 404 media Report in an explosive scoop That DoubleSpeed has been hacked. It wasn’t just one account linked to the startup, but the entire backend used to manage its phone farms — so it provides an extraordinary glimpse into how the service is actually being used to manipulate social media on a large scale.
talking to 404 Speaking on condition of anonymity, the hacker said they could “see the phones in use, which manager (the computer that controls the phone) they have, which TikTok account they are assigned to, the proxies in use (and their passwords), and pending tasks. As well as links to control devices for each manager.”
The hacker also shared a list of more than 400 TikTok accounts operated by DoubleSpeed’s phone farm, about half of which were actively promoting products. According to publication reports, most of them did so without disclosing that the posts were advertisements – a direct violation of TikTok. terms of useNot to mention the Federal Trade Commission digital advertising rules,
While unannounced ads may seem like small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, it points to a bleak trend. Not only is DoubleSpeed a potential breeding ground for disinformation campaigns or financial scams, but it also seems like they are getting away with their phone farm operations without any pressure from TikTok.
DoubleSpeed’s TikTok accounts had a variety of exploits to promote language learning apps, supplements, massage products, dating apps, and more. An account operating under the obviously human-sounding name of Chloe Davis had uploaded nearly 200 posts, including one featuring an AI-generated woman selling massage rollers for a company called Wibbit. 404 Informed.
Although the hacker says he reported the vulnerability to DoubleSpeed on October 31, he notes that he still had access to the company’s backend today.
As of now, DoubleSpeed is only active on TikTok, though it has plans to expand to Instagram, Reddit, and ex-Twitter. When this happens, it seems like all bets are off – social media engagement, and all the influence it brings, goes to the highest bidder.
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