NEW YORK, USA – Twitter has introduced new restrictions on the number of posts users can read daily in an effort to curb data scraping and system manipulation.
The platform’s executive chairman, Elon Musk, announced the announcement through his Twitter account on Saturday, July 1, 2023.
Musk stated that this is a temporary measure.
To address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation, we’ve applied the following temporary limits:
– Verified accounts are limited to reading 6000 posts/day
– Unverified accounts to 600 posts/day
– New unverified accounts to 300/day— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 1, 2023
According to the newly introduced rule, verified accounts on Twitter will now be limited to reading 6,000 posts per day, unverified accounts to 600 posts per day, and newly created unverified accounts will be capped at 300 posts per day.
The announcement was met with criticism from several Twitter users who perceive the restrictions as an attempt to coerce more users into subscribing to Twitter’s blue badge service.
There has been a suspicion among some users that this move could be aimed at promoting Twitter’s subscription-based model.
Elon Musk, who became the new owner of Twitter, faced significant criticism last year after introducing a new subscription service priced at $7.99 per month.
The service, known as Twitter Blue, offers subscribers a range of additional features, including an undo tweet function, custom app icons, and a reader mode for lengthy threads.
Critics argue that limiting the number of post reads is a way to create a sense of exclusivity and push users towards the subscription service, while others expressed concerns about how this would affect their experience and interaction on the platform.
However, Twitter’s stance is that the restrictions have been put in place to combat data scraping, a practice where automated bots are used to harvest large amounts of data from the platform, and system manipulation.
The impact of these new restrictions on user engagement and the overall user experience on Twitter remains to be seen.
It is also unclear how long these temporary measures will be in effect and whether they will be followed by other changes aimed at safeguarding the platform’s data and integrity.
As the social media landscape continues to evolve, platforms like Twitter are faced with the challenge of balancing user experience, monetization strategies, and security measures.
