Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has announced that it will test a new subscription model, under which it will charge a $1 annual fee for basic features.
The new subscription termed as “Not A Bot” will charge users for likes, reposts or quoting other accounts’ posts, and bookmarking posts on the web version of the platform, according to a Reuters report.
As per the report, the purpose of introducing the new subscription model is to combat bots and spammers, and also the fee will vary from country to country based on the exchange rate.
Reportedly, X said, the new method will be first available for users in New Zealand and Philippines. Within this test, existing users are not affected. But new users who would not wish to subscribe will only be able to view and read posts, watch videos and follow accounts.
It is also mentioned that those who opt out of the subscription fee will only have access to ‘read only’ actions, such as reading posts, watching videos, and following accounts.
Bots have been always a disputative issue for Elon Musk who acquired the company last year. In July, X had introduced a limit on viewing tweets, “to ensure the authenticity” of its user base.
Surfing through the issue a little backwards, Elon Musk had already said that he was planning to charge all the users to use the social media platform. Back then, Musk said,
“Adding a subscription would make it much more difficult for bots to create accounts, because each bot would need to register a new credit card.”
Twitter first rolled out Twitter Blue in 2021. Musk overhauled the subscription last November, increasing the price and changing some features. To be noted, Musk changed Twitter’s verification system to only allow paid subscribers to be verified.
