X, formerly known as Twitter, paywalls basic features as a part of its "not a bot" program
X, formerly known as Twitter, has undergone radical changes ever since Elon Musk bought the company. Some of the more controversial decisions include limiting the ability of non-premium subscribers to send direct messages, premium users' replies getting priority over others and more. Soon, using X/Twitter for free could be a thing of the past.
X has announced its new "Not a bot" program via a blog post. As its name suggests (badly), the move is yet another step towards eliminating the rampant bot problem. New X users who sign up on the platform starting today will have to pay the equivalent of US$1 annually to like, reply, repost, and quote other users' content. A verified phone number will also be mandatory. Those unwilling to do so can create a read-only account that lets you follow users but not interact with their content.
Currently, X is testing the program in Phillippines and New Zealand on the web client only. Whether or not it will be extended to Android/iOS remains to be seen. There is no telling if the program will be expanded worldwide, but it wouldn't be implausible given the recent changes. Whether or not it actually helps mitigate the bot problem is an entirely different issue.
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