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To curb spam and bot activity on its platform, X, formerly known as Twitter, has introduced a $1 annual ‘Not A Bot’ subscription exclusively for new web users in New Zealand and the Philippines.
This initiative aims to bolster efforts to maintain the platform’s integrity by reducing the prevalence of spam and manipulation.
This development came in an unsigned post on X’s help centre, emphasising the company’s commitment to combating fraudulent activity. New users from these regions must also verify their accounts using a phone number.
While the announcement has generated a degree of curiosity, X’s post did not clarify the decision to limit the $1 subscription to new web users, excluding mobile app users.
Furthermore, the rationale behind its rollout in only two countries remains unexplained. It is plausible that X has observed a higher incidence of bot activity from these regions, with website registration being a potentially easier gateway for creating fake accounts.
Users who opt against the subscription will be restricted to ‘read-only’ activities, such as viewing posts and watching videos. Interestingly, although the primary announcement specifies web users, the ‘Not A Bot’ terms and conditions indicate that the subscription is also accessible through X’s iOS and Android apps.
This latest initiative supplements X’s subscription model, which charges $8 monthly. Elon Musk has consistently expressed his belief that imposing subscription fees will help deter the proliferation of bot armies.
However, it remains to be seen what percentage of total X users opt for the paid subscriptions.
After Elon Musk took over Twitter, he tried several monetisation techniques to bolster the platform’s revenues. ‘Not A Bot’ is also one of these, and it will be interesting to see how many X users will pay this paltry sum, which is negligible for those who wish to use X for their nefarious reasons — scamming people or spreading political and cultural propaganda.
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