Elon Musk has disclosed that newcomers to the social platform X (formerly Twitter) may face fees for sharing content. In response to a user’s inquiry on the platform, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX clarified that introducing “a nominal fee for new user posting privileges” is essential to address the ongoing challenge of bot infiltration.
Unfortunately, a small fee for new user write access is the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots.
Current AI (and troll farms) can pass “are you a bot” with ease.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 15, 2024
Musk’s response came after X Daily News shared a platform announcement stating that new users must pay a “modest annual fee” to access posting, liking, bookmarking, and replying features. The notice highlighted the aim to “curb spam” and “enhance overall user experience.”
Users can, however, continue to follow accounts for free.
“The onslaught of fake accounts also uses up the available namespace, so many good handles are taken as a result,” Musk explained in his response.
Musk also highlighted that current AI can easily bypass traditional bot detection measures.
“Current AI (and troll farms) can pass ‘are you a bot’ with ease,” he said.
Emphasising that this measure targets new users exclusively, Musk clarified that after a probationary period of three months, users would regain free write access.
This announcement follows the platform’s decision last October to charge new unverified users in New Zealand and the Philippines a fee of $1 per year.
Recently, X initiated a massive purge of spam accounts, resulting in some users losing followers. The platform has been grappling with an influx of spam and porn bots in recent months, prompting Musk to initiate the purge.
