Musk's X to charge users in Philippines and New Zealand $1 to use platform
October 18, 20239:23 AM ET
Elon Musk, who owns X, is set to start charging new users of the platform $1 in the Philippines and New Zealand in an effort aimed at curbing bots.
Michel Euler/AP
X, formerly known as Twitter, will start charging users in the Philippines and New Zealand a $1 fee to use the service, a move owner Elon Musk says is aimed at curbing the presence of bots on the site.
The company announced the program, called Not a Bot, late Tuesday, saying the annual fee will apply to new users who want to post, like, reply and quote other content on the platform. Reading posts on the site's timeline will be possible without a charge.
Musk hinted at a paywall in the works for users of X in a September interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming that it may be the only way "to combat vast armies of bots."
The idea is that by charging "a few dollars or something" it could deter the creation of new fake accounts since bots just cost "a fraction of a penny" to create, Musk told Netanyahu.
If the annual fees for using the site are applied more widely, it would mark a major departure for the social media service, which has been free to use since it was founded in 2006.
