X charges $1 annually for new accounts in New Zealand and the Philippines to block bots

X (formerly Twitter) started charging $1 annually for new accounts in New Zealand and the Philippines. It's an experiment, but it looks like it will be used globally as a social networking system to avoid bots (chat programs that impersonate people) on Elon Musk's social network.

Henceforth, new accounts in both countries will be charged a one-dollar annual subscription Not a bot . The social network noted in a post from its help center: “This is designed to reduce our already significant efforts. Spam handling of our site.” Each new account must be verified by phone number before being approved.

Justice by Elon Musk

To questions from accounts on X, Elon Musk explained that access to the social network is free to read content, but you have to pay that dollar to write messages. “This is the only way to fight bots without blocking real users. It won't stop bots completely, but it will make the platform 1,000 times harder to manipulate,” X Owner explained.

The start of the program in two countries is only a pilot test. At this time, the social network clarified that existing accounts will remain intact without the need for payment. This annual fee allows the web version of the platform to: “publish content, like, reply to, retweet, quote posts from other accounts, and flag posts.”