X, formerly known as Twitter, has recently announced a surprising new policy that will soon require new users to pay a nominal annual fee for certain interactions on the platform. This policy is already active in New Zealand and the Philippines and is aimed at reducing spam and improving the overall user experience.
Starting soon, new users joining X will be required to pay a fee for various interactions on the platform, including liking, posting, replying, and bookmarking tweets. This step is a strategic effort to reduce spam bots and fake accounts, which have plagued social media platforms. By introducing a fee, X hopes to create a more authentic and engaging environment for its users.
Elon Musk, emphasized the need to address the bots online, stating that “a small fee for new user writing access is the only way to curb the bots. Current AI (and troll farms) can pass ‘Are you a bot’ with ease.” Musk also highlighted that the proliferation of fake accounts depletes available usernames, making it challenging for genuine users.
While this move is aimed at improving the quality of interactions on X, it raises several questions. Will new users be willing to pay for basic interactions when other social networks remain free? Can this fee effectively deter spammers, or will they find ways to circumvent it? For now, existing users are exempt from this fee, but how long will that last?
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