San Francisco authorities ordered an investigation into the large, flashing 'X' sign on top of the company's headquarters building, formerly known as Twitter, over an alleged permit violation.
The large sign was installed on Friday and was allegedly placed without permission from the city and has since prompted complaints from city dwellers. The investigation into the sign began last week and followed accusations that the company did not obtain the permits required to follow design and safety protocols.
San Francisco Investigates Flashing 'X' Sign
A spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection, Patrick Hannan, said last week that any replacement signage requires a permit. This ensures "consistency with the historic nature of the building" and that the signage is safely attached.
Hannan explained that adding a sign on top of a building requires a permit under city laws. San Francisco police on Monday stopped workers from removing the platform's bird logo from outside the building. As per USA Today, they said they had not closed the sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe if any part of the sign or other objects fell.
The change in signage comes as the social media platform's CEO, Elon Musk, continues his efforts to rebrand the company to X, which is a change that he announced earlier this month. The company's headquarters is in downtown San Francisco, only a few blocks from the region's City Hall.
Many online users have pointed out that the company headquarters' new sign is directly across a residential building. Various videos showed the sign flashing brightly, visible from the street below.
After buying the social media company previously known as Twitter last year for $44 billion, Musk changed the platform's logo from a bird to an X. The logo first appeared at the top of the platform's desktop version on Monday.
Potential Permit Violation
After purchasing the company in October last year, the billionaire entrepreneur was fascinated with the letter X and renamed Twitter's corporate name X Corp. According to the Associated Press, one of his children is called 'X,' but the child's name is a collection of letters and symbols.
One resident from San Francisco, Christopher Beale, a journalist, captured the X sign strobing into his living room on Friday. In a statement, he said it was difficult to describe how bright the sign made the intersection. He noted that the light made it up off the street, and it seemed like a flash of lightning going off.
Beale argued that when they got home and tried to watch a movie, the sign flashed through their window even when they put their shades down. He said it was so distracting that they had to leave the room and go to the side of the apartment that does not face the building with the sign.
The journalist said he was okay with cool displays, branding, and whatever companies wanted to do, but the new X sign was too bright. Beale also raised concern for other people who could have epilepsy or are sensitive to bright lights, which could be affected by the new sign, said CBS News.
