Why Elon Musk is Implementing a Paywall on X (Formerly Known as Twitter)
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has recently revealed its plans to test out a subscription model. New users will be charged a nominal fee of $1 per year to access basic features. The company, which refers to this method as the “Not a Bot” annual subscription, will initially launch the test run in New Zealand and the Philippines. Existing users will not be affected during this trial.
The primary purpose of this paywall is to combat bots and spammers on X. The platform aims to strike a balance between accessibility and implementing a small fee. X, however, clarified that profitability is not the main objective behind this decision.
New users who sign up for X will need to verify their account using their phone number and then complete the payment of $1 USD. Once verified, they will have access to key features such as posting, liking, replying, reposting, bookmarking, and quoting posts. Users who choose not to subscribe will be restricted to “read-only” functions, including reading posts, watching videos, and following accounts.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, had already hinted at the possibility of implementing a subscription fee during a live-streamed conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Musk mentioned that the fee would help prevent bots from infiltrating the platform. He also revealed that X currently has 550 million monthly users who generate 100 million to 200 million posts daily.
In an effort to address data scraping and system manipulation, Musk previously enforced temporary daily limits on the number of posts users can view. Additionally, X already offers a premium subscription service allowing users to access enhanced features such as post editing and prioritized rankings in conversations and search, with pricing starting at $8 per month.
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