Nearly a month after CEO Elon Musk teased charging all users for X, the company has launched a trial program.
In a Tuesday post on X, the company said the testing program, termed Not a Bot, will be launched in New Zealand and the Philippines. The test will require new web users to pay a $1 annual fee to interact and post on X.
If users choose to waive the fee, they will be able to follow users and watch videos but not interact with the site. Users who pay for X premium won’t have to pay the $1 annual fee. The post also clarified that for the time being, existing users won’t have to pay the annual subscription.
According to X, the program is meant to “bolster our already successful efforts to reduce spam.”
The announcement comes after Mr. Musk floated the idea in a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month. During the interview, Mr. Musk said the only way he could think to limit the bot problem was to charge every user a small annual fee.
Originally, many speculated the annual fee plan was an attempt to force users to sign up for X Premium, the platform’s verification service. X clarified that the purpose of the new system is not revenue generation.
The announcement comes at a sensitive time for X. The platform is reportedly not in the best financial shape and wants to attract advertisers after major contributors left in droves last year.
X also is under fire from European regulators after they opposed various content on the site in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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