Imagine paying to tweet, without even having a premium account. That’s the new idea from Elon Musk. He claims it will drive away the bots.
Elon Musk, the CEO of X (formerly Twitter), has announced a new measure to combat bots on the social network. In response to concerns about bots flooding the platform, Musk stated that new users will be required to pay a small fee to post content.
Musk highlighted the challenge of distinguishing between genuine users and bots. Noting that current AI technology can easily bypass security measures like CAPTCHA. He believes that charging a fee to new accounts is the most effective way to address this issue.
However, Musk clarified that new users will have the option to post for free after three months of account creation. This strategy aims to balance user accessibility with the need to prevent bot activity. Is this fair on all the genuine users, however?
While specific details about the fee structure and implementation timeline are not yet available, this approach builds on X’s previous efforts to address spam and fake accounts. Last year, the platform introduced a $1 annual fee for new unverified users in certain regions.
No interactions until fee is paid
This lead to X limiting their interaction capabilities until the fee was paid. It seems unfair to target new users, or users in certain regions. Who’s to say new users are more likely to be creating profiles for the wrong reasons. It will put people off using X more likely.
In addition to combating bots, X has recently undertaken a major clean-up of spam accounts, cautioning users that their follower counts may be affected. These actions underscore the platform’s commitment to improving user experience and promoting genuine interactions.
It’s worth noting that while Musk has emphasised the importance of combating AI bots, X itself has policies allowing public posts to be used for training AI models. Furthermore, Musk’s AI company, xAI, has integrated its chatbot, Grok, into X’s premium subscription tiers.
Overall, Musk’s decision to charge new users reflects the ongoing challenge of maintaining a healthy and authentic online community, and it signals X’s proactive approach to addressing these issues. But, equally, it doesn’t seem fair on genuine new users.
