Elon Musk Says Charging New X Users A 'Small Fee' Is The Only Way To Curb Bot Onslaught

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has admitted that the only way to solve the bot problem on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is by charging new users a small fee.

What Happened: Musk confirmed on X that the social media platform plans to charge a small fee to allow new users to post on X. Culling the bots seems to be Musk's primary driver behind this decision.

"Unfortunately, a small fee for new user write access is the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots."

He explained that the current AI and troll farms can easily bypass the “Are you a bot” question and create fake accounts, which in turn exhausts the available username pool.

Musk revealed that despite freeing up over a million usernames, the bot armies quickly reclaimed them.

See Also: Another Setback For Elon Musk: After CCDH Lawsuit Thrown Out, Media Matters Wins Injunction Against Texas AG’s Investigation

“We've freed up over a million so far. Will free up tens of millions in the coming weeks. However, as soon as we do this, the bot armies immediately snatch the namespace back again!"

Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.

Why It Matters: In October, Musk's X introduced a $1 annual subscription fee for new users in New Zealand and the Philippines as part of the “Not A Bot” program. The primary goal was to mitigate spam, manipulation, and bot activity on the platform.

The move was seen as a step towards combating the massive influx of bots on the platform.

Security researcher Troy Hunt noted that Musk’s decision to charge a $1 annual fee for new accounts on X could combat the massive problem of platform abuse and bots. The nominal $1 fee would unlock the ability to post.

Earlier, Musk noted that bot accounts only have access to "so many" payment options, and charging a small monthly fee to all users should weed out any bot activity.

Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Consumer Tech by following this link.

Read Next: Elon Musk Reacts To Old Clip Of Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs Saying ‘There’s A Tremendous Amount Of Crafts

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In: NewsSocial MediaTechbenzinga neuroConsumer TechElon Musksocial mediatwitterX
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!