Elon Musk considers fee for new X users to combat bot activity

Social media platform X is exploring a new policy under the leadership of Elon Musk. The proposed policy would require new users to pay a small fee to create an account and be able to post content.

This move comes amidst ongoing efforts by X to combat the presence of fake accounts and automated bots on the platform.

Musk himself addressed the issue in a recent response to an X user post.

He argued that current methods employed by X, such as CAPTCHAs, are easily bypassed by sophisticated AI and "troll farms." He stated his belief that a small fee would be the "only way" to effectively curb the "onslaught of bots."

Free trial period for new users

While details regarding the specific fee amount remain undisclosed, Musk did reveal that new users would have a grace period.

After creating an account, they would be able to post and interact with the platform for free for the first three months.

This temporary free access would presumably allow them to assess the value proposition of X before committing to a paid membership.

The proposed fee system might draw inspiration from a similar trial program implemented in New Zealand and the Philippines in October 2023.

Under that program, new users in those regions were required to pay $1 annually to unlock posting functionalities, such as writing posts, replies, and reposts. They could still access and read existing content without paying a fee.

Musk's previous initiatives against bots

Musk has a history of taking action against bots on X. In 2023, the platform updated its policies to allow the use of public posts for training machine learning algorithms.

This move was seen as a potential deterrent to bad actors who might be discouraged from posting harmful content if it could be used to improve AI for content moderation.

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