Twitter (X) may soon introduce mandatory subscription payments for all users
Apparently the only viable way for the social network X – ex-Twitter to deal with the problem of bots would be for everyone who uses it to pay a subscription for it. At least that's what its owner and controversial billionaire Elon Musk claims, who announced the possibility of switching to mandatory subscription payments for all users of this network in a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
This would mean that even if you are not a Blue subscriber (who already pays a subscription for certain features in this app) you have to pay a certain fee in order to be able to use your Twitter or X account at all. This in one way actually defeats the purpose of the Blue subscription which provides certain benefits in usage, but this still may not necessarily be the case, writes Wccftech.
A social network that would have to pay for any use could not only harm its popularity and win new users, but it could also affect the retention of old ones. Ultimately, this may lead it down the road to ruin, although Musk plans to transform it into an “app for everyone.”
“A small monthly payment to use the X system” is actually the way forward if “we want to deal with massive bot armies,” according to Musk.
Shutterstock / rafapressAs he claims, if a bot costs a fraction of a coin, and even if bot makers only have to pay a small amount of money – when they multiply it by a large number of such orders, their price will be very high.
The owner of this network did not specify the eventual price for its use and whether that price would be lower than that paid by Blue subscribers. However, he noted that “bot makers” will have to register a new payment for each bot they make, preventing them from proliferating.
A more specific time frame has also not been announced, but considering that Mask has introduced a huge number of changes to the application in a short period of time since purchasing this network, it could happen at any time even from now.
Considering that Musk lives a very capitalistic life, the announced change is not overly surprising, but definitely disappointing. Even despite many (un)popular changes to the network and the development of its direct competition, it still retains a large base of users who are happy to use it. However, this may no longer be the case in the future.