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