Elon Musk limits the use of Twitter to free users

Elon Musk limits the use of Twitter to free users




Tycoon Elon Musk, owner of the social network Twitter, has once again caused controversy among users of the platform by implementing a temporary limit on the number of tweets users can view per day. The measure was introduced to “address extreme levels of data mining and system manipulation,” according to Musk.

Users started having problems accessing the site this Saturday (1/7), with many error messages stating “Rate Limit Exceeded” or “Failed to fetch tweets”. More than 7,000 people have reported problems using Twitter on the Downdetector website.

New view limits

Musk announced in a tweet on Saturday that verified accounts can view about 6,000 posts a day. But for unverified accounts, the number drops dramatically to 600 posts per day. New unverified users face an even worse situation: access to only 300 posts per day.

In a second tweet, Musk revealed that speed limits will soon be raised to 8,000 for verified users, 800 for unverified users, and 400 for new unverified users.

It has also closed its doors to visitors. To access Twitter, users will need to log into their account. Anyone who doesn’t have an account will no longer have access to the network.

User reaction

The billionaire, who also owns Tesla and SpaceX, described the move as temporary. However, many Twitter users have wondered if this could spell the beginning of the end for the controversial social media platform.

Expressions like “Twitter Acabou” and “End of Twitter” have started to lead the list of the most commented topics on the social network. Many blame Musk for ruining the social network with the constant changes he has promoted since he bought it late last year.

Musk’s justification

Musk justified the move, writing, “Several hundreds of organizations (possibly more) were collecting data on Twitter extremely aggressively, to the point where it affected the actual user experience.” He added, “We were having so much data stolen that it degraded the service for regular users.”

Though Musk announced in May that Linda Yaccarino would take over as CEO of the social media platform, Musk remains at the forefront of Twitter tech issues, such as recent usage limits. She explained that Yaccarino will “mainly focus on business operations while I focus on product design and new technologies.”

Source: Terra

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