Elon Musk plans on charging each new person to the platform an annual charge of $1 greenback to permit them to entry primary options like posting, bookmarking and even liking a put up. Musk hopes that this might make it troublesome for bots to open new accounts on the platform
In a current transfer by X, net customers in New Zealand and the Philippines are actually required to pay a yearly charge of $1 to entry the platform and use any of its primary options, like posting, bookmarking and even liking a put up.
This subscription, a part of the “Not A Bot” programme, goals to strengthen efforts to fight spam, manipulation, and bot exercise on the platform, as introduced by X in a blogpost
New customers in these two international locations becoming a member of through the net may even have to confirm their accounts utilizing a cellphone quantity, based on the put up. Fortune first hinted at Elon Musk’s intention to cost new customers $1 yearly shortly earlier than X’s official announcement.
Nonetheless, X’s put up doesn’t present a transparent clarification for why the $1 subscription is unique to net customers and never relevant to the cellular app.
Moreover, it raises questions on why the “Not A Bot” programme is simply being launched in these two international locations. Hypothesis means that X might have noticed the next stage of bot exercise in these areas and that creating pretend accounts through the web site could be extra prevalent.
“This will evaluate a potentially powerful measure to help us combat bots and spammers on X, while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount,” stated X within the weblog put up. “Within this test, existing users are not affected.”
Beginning immediately, we’re testing a brand new program (Not A Bot) in New Zealand and the Philippines. New, unverified accounts can be required to enroll in a $1 annual subscription to have the ability to put up & work together with different posts. Inside this take a look at, present customers are usually not affected.
This…
— Help (@Help) October 17, 2023
Customers who select to not subscribe to the $1 charge may have restricted performance, restricted to “read-only” actions like viewing posts and watching movies.
It’s price noting that whereas the “Not A Bot” phrases and circumstances point out the choice to subscribe from X’s iOS and Android apps, the first put up on X’s assist centre focuses on net customers.
Appropriate, learn free of charge, however $1/yr to jot down. It’s the one approach to battle bots with out blocking actual customers.
This received’t cease bots fully, however it is going to be 1000X tougher to control the platform.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 18, 2023
This new subscription programme is an addition to X’s major subscription providing, which prices $8 monthly.
Elon Musk, who has been vocal about charging for platform entry as a way to discourage bot armies, acknowledges that solely a minuscule proportion of customers are presently paying. Nonetheless, he boasts concerning the rising person engagement on X, regardless of these modifications.