- September 25, 2023
- Posted by: Marcio Delgado
- Category: Articles
X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, may introduce a paywall to its content soon.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who bought Twitter in 2022 for $44bn, has recently hinted about upcoming changes for all users. According to the Tesla owner, implementing a paywall to access the platform would reduce the presence of bots and automated accounts, which have become a persistent issue for social media network launched in 2006.
During a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, Elon Musk suggested that X might introduce fees for its current user base. At moment Twitter only charges users for its premium subscription service, X Premium, which offers benefits including a verified account checkmark. The service is currently priced at $11 per month for iPhone users in the United States and £11 for users in the United Kingdom.
Another option for X, which since Elon’s takeover, last October, is battling a decline in advertising, would be to introduce a cheaper X premium (previously Twitter Blue) plan. Musk has said an advertiser boycott, spurred by concerns over his leadership of the platform and its management of inappropriate or hateful content, has caused ad revenue to decline by 60%.
Users didn’t seem thrilled by the prospect of having to pay to use X and used the platform itself to share their views.
“In its current form, it’s simply not worth paying for”, says UK-based Twitter user Tony McDonell, while user Graeme Parr, also based in the United Kingdom, questions: “Doesn’t it cease to become a social medium if it is only open to a restricted ‘club’?”.
A growing number of X users have also shared posts about considering spending their time on Threads, an app for sharing text updates and joining public conversations launched in July by the team behind Instagram.
