Two Countries that X Charges New Users $1 per Year to Join
X, formerly known as Twitter, is launching a new subscription program in New Zealand and the Philippines that will require new users to pay a $1 annual fee to join. The program, called “Not a Bot,” is designed to help reduce spam, manipulation, and bot activity on the platform. Twitter is known to have tons of bot activities that causing misinformation.
Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, is taking steps to address the problem of bot activity on its platform. One of those steps is a new subscription program called “Not a Bot,” which is currently being tested in New Zealand and the Philippines. New users who join X via the web in these two countries will be required to pay a $1 annual fee and verify their account with an active phone number in order to be able to create new tweets, retweet, like, and reply to posts. Basically, to use X most praised features. New users who opt out of subscribing will only be able to take “read only” actions, such as viewing posts and watching videos.
| $1 Annual Fee of X (Twitter) | Free Version of X (Twitter) |
|---|---|
| Tweets, retweet, like, reply to other posts. Full X experience and participation. | “Read only” actions, can only view posts and videos. No participation. |
It is unclear why X charging new users $1 per year for the “Not a Bot” subscription program single out New Zealand and the Philippines, or why it is only requiring new web users to subscribe. However, we can make some guesses. It is possible that X has seen more bot activity from these two countries than others, or that it believes that it is easier for bots to create multiple accounts via the web. X may also be testing the waters with Not a Bot before expanding it to other more populated countries and platforms. For users in the United States, Indonesia and others, consider yourself lucky because New Zealand and the Philippines will be the guineapigs (test subjects) for the rest of the world for X’s subscription service.
It is clear X charging new users $1 per year is an attempt that X is taking the problem of bot activity seriously. Bot accounts can be used to spread spam, misinformation, and propaganda, and they can also be used to manipulate public opinion. By requiring new users to pay a small fee and verify their account, X is hoping to make it more difficult for bots to create accounts on its platform. Fake news and misinformation is one of the top issues in social media.
In addition to the above, here are some other thoughts on the new subscription program and Musk’s strategy of X charging new users to reduce bot activity:
- It is possible that Musk is hoping that the new subscription program will generate more revenue for X. X is currently not profitable, and Musk has said that he wants to make the company more financially sustainable.
- Maybe Musk is hoping that the new subscription program will make X more appealing to potential advertisers. Advertisers are less likely to want to advertise on a platform that is plagued by bot accounts but instead fill with real humans.
The major drawback to X Charging New Users to use its platform are apparent:
- One of the countries chosen is the Philippines. The Philippines have a huge social media base on X, Facebook and other platform and charging them $1 may turn off new comers. $1 albeit still affordable for us, may be unattractive to people with less income.
- In general, any fees to join a social media platform will sway some users to stay away from it and instead use its competitors for engagement and news.
- It could start out as $1 per year but if this program is success, I wouldn’t be surprise if X start charging new users $3, $10 or even $20 per year. This program can open doors for future price increase and subscription services.
This new program is in addition to X’s main subscription of $8 a month. Overall, the new subscription program is a controversial one. It remains to be seen how effective it will be in reducing bot activity on X, and whether it will have any negative consequences for users. If you like this article and want to read more regarding global news and travel tips click here for more.
