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X may charge ‘small monthly payment’ to all users: Elon Musk

The social media platform has gone through several changes in the past since it’s new boss Musk took over the site for $44 billion in October last year.

Times Now Digital

Updated Sep 19, 2023 | 04:42 PM IST

X may charge ‘small monthly payment’ to all users: Elon Musk

Microblogging platform X, formerly known as Twitter could charge a monthly fees to its users, its boss Elon Musk said on Monday, citing the need to cut down on bots.

The social media platform has gone through several changes in the past since it’s new boss Musk took over the site for $44 billion in October last year.

Thousands of employees were fired, a paid premium subscription option was launched, content moderation was cut and reinstatement of formerly banned accounts including that of Former US president Donald Trump was done.

Musk mentioned in July this year that the platform has lost roughly half of its advertising revenue.

Bots -- accounts run by computer programs rather than humans -- are common on X, where they can be used to artificially amplify political messages or racial hatred.

During a talk with Musk on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised the question of online anti-Semitism, and how X could "prevent the use of bots -- armies of bots -- to replicate and amplify it."

Musk replied that the company was "moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system."

"It's the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots," he said.

"Because a bot costs a fraction of a penny -- call it a tenth of a penny -- but if somebody even has to pay a few dollars, some minor amount, the effective cost of bots is very high.

"And then you also have to get a new payment method every time you have a new bot."

The conversation which was broadcasted on X, came as the Tesla tycoon is mired in a row with the Anti-Defamation League, a US-based Jewish organization.

With inputs from AFP

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