Elon Musk cracks down on bots: New X users face temporary fee
Last year, Elon Musk said he wanted to start charging new users on X to keep the platform bot-free. Now, he has confirmed this plan again and shared more details about it.
Where else but on X (via 9to5Mac), Musk told a user that a "small fee" for new accounts to post on the platform is the only way to stop the endless wave of bots. He also mentioned that AI tools can easily pass "you’re a robot" tests. Additionally, in another post, the X owner said users who don't pay the fee can still follow accounts and read posts for free.
There is no info on when this system will kick in or how much the fee will be. But last year, X experimented with a new $1/year subscription tier called "Not A Bot" in two countries—the Philippines and New Zealand. So, there is a chance that a dollar might be the fee for new users on the platform.
Since Elon Musk took the reins at Twitter, there've been a ton of changes, with rebranding it to X being just one of them. The company rolled out new subscription plans with perks like audio and video calls, video downloads, and super-long 25,000-character posts for paying users.
Where else but on X (via 9to5Mac), Musk told a user that a "small fee" for new accounts to post on the platform is the only way to stop the endless wave of bots. He also mentioned that AI tools can easily pass "you’re a robot" tests. Additionally, in another post, the X owner said users who don't pay the fee can still follow accounts and read posts for free.
Unfortunately, a small fee for new user write access is the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 15, 2024
Current AI (and troll farms) can pass “are you a bot” with ease.
Moreover, users who don’t pay to unlock posting will get it for free after three months. And it seems like this change is indeed in the works, as code found in the X app confirms it, meaning new users will need to subscribe if they want to start posting and engaging from the get-go.
SPECULATION: X might be expanding its policy to charge new users before they reply/like/bookmark a post https://t.co/odqeyeiHBxpic.twitter.com/EU71qlwQ0D
— X Daily News (@xDaily) April 15, 2024
New unverified users will have to shell out a small yearly fee before they can do any writing activities on the web, like posting, liking, bookmarking, and replying.
There is no info on when this system will kick in or how much the fee will be. But last year, X experimented with a new $1/year subscription tier called "Not A Bot" in two countries—the Philippines and New Zealand. So, there is a chance that a dollar might be the fee for new users on the platform.
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