In a statement released by the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on October 18, 2023, its owner Elon Musk announced a new policy aimed at curbing spam, manipulation, and bot activity. Under this initiative, called “Not A Bot,” the platform will begin testing a one-dollar annual subscription for new, unverified accounts in New Zealand and the Philippines. Existing users will remain unaffected by this test.
The statement emphasized that this subscription fee was not introduced to generate profits but to enhance efforts to maintain a clean and bot-free environment on the platform while preserving accessibility. This approach has proven effective in combating these issues on a larger scale.
Consequently, new users in both the Philippines and New Zealand will be required to subscribe to this annual fee. Users who choose not to subscribe will be limited to “read-only” actions, such as viewing posts, watching videos, and following accounts.
Elon Musk acquired Twitter for a substantial $44 billion last year and has since implemented various changes, including introducing a fee for verification badges, enabling publishers to charge for their content, and implementing two-factor authentication for users with blue badges.
Earlier in the year, the company rebranded itself from Twitter to X, abandoning its iconic bird logo that had been synonymous with the platform since its inception.
Additionally, Musk announced via a tweet on July 23, 2023, that the platform would transition to X as its new logo. He indicated that an Art Deco style was preferred, and if a suitable X logo design was shared, it would be implemented globally the following day.
Furthermore, this series of changes led to layoffs within the Twitter workforce, creating uncertainty within one of the world’s leading social media platforms.