Fight against bots? Musk says new users on X will soon have to pay $1 to create an account

• X has started testing a paid subscription program for all new users in two countries.
• New users will have to pay a fee to be able to interact with other users.
• Here’s everything you need to know about the Not a Bot program.

Elon Musk in a live-stream has mentioned that X (formerly Twitter) is moving towards becoming a paid platform for all users. X has announced that the company is now testing a new program in two countries.

The program, dubbed as “Not a Bot” has initially been announced in two countries – New Zealand and Philippines. Users creating a new account in these countries will have to pay an annual fee of $1 to interact with other users.

Let’s understand what the Not a Bot program is and what impact it may have on new users –

Mobile number verification

The first thing users will have to do under the Not a Bot program is to verify their phone number. This will strictly apply to new users as well.

Subscription plan

Once the user has authenticated their mobile number, they will be asked to select a subscription plan. The user will have three options –

• $1 plan
• X Premium
• Verified Organisations

Here’s what you get with the $1 plan

The $1 plan, which is the cheapest option among the three subscription plans, will allow you to perform the following actions – post content, like posts, reply to posts, quote or repost posts and bookmark posts.

It is noteworthy that these are all the things that users can currently do for free.

Can new users create an account for free?

While new users will be able to opt for a free account, their actions on the platform will be very limited. The users who do not opt for a subscription plan will only be able to read posts, watch videos and follow accounts.

Will existing users have to pay $1?

X has mentioned that existing users will not be affected within this test and won’t have to pay any subscription fees. But, from the wording, “within this test”, it can be interpreted that the company is considering charging users a nominal fee to be able to interact on the platform.

Musk has been vocal about eliminating bots on the platform and may consider charging a nominal fee to reduce bots on the platform.

Why is X doing this?

As per the platform, this move is not aimed at earning a profit but to reduce spam, manipulation of the platform and reduce bot activity.

“This new test was developed to bolster our already successful efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity, while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount. It is not a profit driver,” X said in a post.

“It’s the only way to fight bots without blocking real users. This won’t stop bots completely, but it will be 1000X harder to manipulate the platform,” Elon Musk said in a post.

Will this program be rolled out globally?

While X has not announced plans for a global rollout, like most features that have been tested on X, including the paid verification feature will likely be rolled out globally once the testing has been done. This could be a few weeks or a few months, based on the results of the testing.

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