X (formerly Twitter) will start charging some new users $1 per year to access basic features like writing, liking, retweeting and replying to posts. All new, unverified users in New Zealand and the Philippines will be required to sign up for a paid subscription service. They will need to verify their account using a phone number.
Existing members in the region will not be affected, and X says users will still be able to create a free “read-only” account.
Also in a post, the X Support account confirmed that the site will be testing a new program called “Not A Bot,” aimed at reducing the number of spam bots on the platform.
X insists that this change is “not a profit driver,” adding: “So far, subscription options have proven to be the main solution that works at scale.”
Meanwhile, X published “Not-A-Bot” terms and conditions outlining details of the new service.
This explains: 'The Software is a recurring subscription service from X that provides your account with writing-level functionality on the
Platform users are not impressed with Musk's new plan, and many say the price of $1 a year is too high. One disgruntled X user wrote: "Not worth $1 to watch this stuff."
Another added: "This will decrease interactions and the user base as a whole, and most people will simply not pay but will continue to see ads."
Other X users complained that Musk's attempts to push back against bots were unsuccessful and were wary of any attempt to use a paywall to verify human users.
"Remember when Elon said: 'We're going to get rid of spam,'" another said, adding: "I think it's a billion times worse than it was before Elon."
While the beta currently only affects some new users, since purchasing Twitter, Elon Musk has said he would like to make the site a fully paid service in the future.