WEB DESK
On Tuesday, Social media platform X, formerly recognized as Twitter, announced its plans to experiment with a novel subscription model. This new initiative, titled “Not A Bot,” will involve a nominal annual fee of $1, granting users access to basic features.
Under the “Not A Bot” subscription, users will be charged for actions such as liking, reposting, quoting other users’ posts, and bookmarking content on the web version of the platform. The primary objective of introducing this subscription model is to combat bots and spammers, as X believes it will discourage their activities. The subscription fee will be adjusted based on the exchange rate, resulting in varying costs for users in different countries.
Initially, the new subscription service will be rolled out for users in New Zealand and the Philippines. Existing users will remain unaffected during this testing phase, but new users who opt not to subscribe will have limited functionality. They will only be able to view and read posts, watch videos, and follow accounts.
The issue of bots has been a significant concern for Elon Musk, who acquired the company last year. In July, X had imposed limitations on tweet viewing to enhance the authenticity of its user base.
Furthermore, earlier this month, Reuters reported, citing a source, that X’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, held discussions with X’s lenders. During this meeting, she revealed plans to test three tiers of the subscription service, each based on the number of ads shown to users.