X to Charge New Users Small Fee to Post in Attempt to Combat Bots
X, previously known as Twitter, will soon charge new users a fee to access basic features, including posting. Elon Musk, the owner of the X, announced this new fee on April 15. He explained that the fee is necessary to tackle the persistent bot issues the platform has been facing for years.
In response to a post detailing updates on X’s website, Musk declared that charging new users a nominal fee is essential to combat the surge of bots. He explained that modern AI and troll farms can effortlessly bypass standard tests like CAPTCHA, designed to verify if a user is human.
He further clarified (replying to another user on X) that new accounts will be able to post without a fee after 3 months.
Musk did not provide details on when or how the fee system would be implemented. However, Forbes suggests that the fee mentioned by Musk is similar to the “Not a Bot” program used in New Zealand and the Philippines.
Last October, X began charging new users in New Zealand and the Philippines $1 per year. Initially, these users could only read posts and not interact with them. To engage fully — by posting, liking, reposting, replying, bookmarking, and quoting — they had to pay the fee. So, this announcement could just be a broadening of the measures already in place in New Zealand and the Phillippines.
The announcement about the new user fee comes shortly after X announced removing bots from the platform earlier this month. Musk warned that those behind the bot accounts would face serious legal consequences. This “small fee” looks like a “big component” of Musk’s broader efforts to eliminate bots from X.
