Twitter / X from Elon Musk is testing out charging new accounts. $1 per year for Spammers and Bots

Therese Yin-Poole

DONE BY WESLEY YIN-POOLE

ASSIGNED: OCT. 18, 2023, 4:53 P.M.


X, formerly known as Twitter, has introduced a program that costs $1 for new signups in select regions.


The Fortune-first-reported Not A Bot program, which prohibits new, unverified accounts from posting and interacting with other postings on the web version of X, is currently operational in New Zealand and the Philippines. According to the social media site owned by Elon Musk, current members are unaffected.

X claimed that this new initiative was meant to stop spam, bot activity, and "manipulation" "while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount." "It is not a profit driver," X declared. And so far, subscription services have shown to be the primary scalable answer.

Here’s how it works, as outlined on X’s Help Centre:

Step One: Phone Verification

  • New accounts created on X, in these two countries, will first be required to verify their phone number.

Step Two: Select Your Subscription Plan

  • $1 USD Annual Fee (prices vary by country and currency). New users will be able to perform certain actions on the web version of the platform: post content, Like posts, Reply, Repost and Quote other accounts’ posts, Bookmark posts.
  • X Premium
  • Verified Organizations

New users who opt out of subscribing will only be able to take “read only” actions, such as: Read posts, Watch videos, and Follow accounts.


X said it will share the results of this test soon, but there is already scepticism online about the program’s ability to stop bots on the platform, with many users bemoaning an apparent increase in spam in recent months. Musk had signalled his intention to charge all X users last month, but this current test is limited in scope for now. X’s premium blue tick, which costs $11 a month in the U.S. for iPhones, has seemingly done little to prevent scammers and bots targeting users.

X, formerly Twitter, rolls out US$1 annual fee for new users in New Zealand and the Philippines. X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has begun rolling out a US$1 annual charge to new users in New Zealand and the Philippines in a move the service owned by Elon Musk says is aimed at combating bots