Elon Musk’s platform, referred to as “X”, is testing a new fee structure for users in New Zealand and the Philippines. Those signing up through the web application in these countries will be charged $1 annually. This initiative is under the “Not A Bot” programme, aimed at minimizing bot activity, spam, and platform manipulation.
While the primary focus is on web sign-ups, the terms hint at a possible extension to X’s iOS and Android apps. As a precaution against bots, new members from these countries will need to confirm their account using a phone number. The exact reasoning for introducing this subscription only in New Zealand and the Philippines, and particularly for web users, remains undisclosed.
X intends to gauge the effectiveness of this approach in combating bots and maintaining platform accessibility by charging a minimal fee. During this evaluation phase, existing users won’t experience any changes. The company has yet to provide additional comments on this matter.
