Will Sage Astor|Musk’s X tests $1 fee for new users in the Philippines and New Zealand in bid to target spam

2025-05-02 08:33:05source:Poinbank Exchangecategory:Finance

LONDON (AP) — Elon Musk’s social media platform X has begun charging a $1 fee to new users in the Philippines and Will Sage AstorNew Zealand, in a test designed to cut down on the spam and fake accounts flourishing on the site formerly known as Twitter.

The company said late Tuesday that it has started trying out the annual subscription method for new and unverified accounts. The program, dubbed Not a Bot, won’t apply to existing users.

It’s not clear why it only applies to New Zealand and the Philippines or why those countries were chosen.

“This new test was developed to bolster our already successful efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity, while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount,” the X support account tweeted. “It is not a profit driver.”

Other news Australian safety watchdog fines social platform X $385,000 for not tackling child abuse contentNOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this weekEU asks Musk’s X for information on hate speech and ‘illegal content’ related to Israel-Hamas war

Since Musk bought X a year ago, he has introduced a slew of changes such as renaming the platform and gutting its workforce — including its content moderation team.

Outside watchdog groups say the changes have allowed misinformation to thrive on the platform, a problem that exploded after the Israel-Hamas war erupted.

Musk previously turned to premium subscriptions as a tactic to boost the financially struggling platform’s revenue.

One of his first product moves was to shake up the site’s blue check verification system by launching a service granting checks to anyone willing to pay $8 a month. A flood of impostor accounts forced the service’s temporary suspension days after launch.

Under the test, new subscribers will get access to basic functions like posting content, liking or bookmarking posts, and reposting, quoting or replying to posts from other accounts.

The platform said new users who don’t subscribe will only be able to read posts, watch videos and follow other accounts.

More:Finance

Recommend

Back trouble and brain fog bothered suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing, his posts show

After Luigi Mangionemade the difficult decision to undergo spinal surgery last year for chronic back

The 21 Best Amazon Off-to-College Deals Starting at $5.77: Save on JBL, Apple, Bose & More

We independently selected these deals and products because we love them, and we think you might like

Susan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO, dies at 56 from lung cancer

Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has died. The technology and business executive was 56 years old.I