The owner of the microblogging platform, X, Elon Musk, has revealed plans to charge new users for posting on the social media platform.
Mr. Musk made this known in response to questions on the new X’s policy for newly created accounts.
He said charging new users a small fee is the most effective strategy to combat the relentless onslaught of bots on the platform.
Musk added that the new users would be granted free posting privileges after three months.
He said, “Unfortunately, a small fee for new user write access is the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots.
“Current AI (and troll farms) can pass “are you a bot” with ease. The onslaught of fake accounts also uses up the available namespace, so many good handles are taken as a result.”
It would be recalled that Musk had introduced a $1 per year charge for new users of the platform in New Zealand and the Philippines on October 17, 2023.
The charge was introduced to allow users from both countries to have access to essential features such as tweeting, retweeting, liking posts, and replying to posts.