July 3 (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s Twitter has implemented a temporary limit on the number of tweets users can view each day. This decision has received some backlash and may undermine the social network’s efforts to attract advertisers. The limit is a response to “extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation” and is the latest change made by Twitter since Musk acquired the platform for $44 billion last year. So, what does this change mean and what are the alternatives to Twitter? How do these changes affect users?
Users are now required to log in to the platform in order to view tweets. Verified accounts can read up to 6,000 posts per day, unverified accounts can read up to 600 posts, and new unverified accounts can read up to 300 posts. Once these limits are exceeded, users will receive a message stating “rate limit exceeded.” Musk has stated that these limits will soon increase to 10,000 for verified accounts, 1,000 for unverified accounts, and 500 for new unverified accounts. He has been working to make Twitter’s verified service more appealing by introducing paid subscriptions and different tiers of badges.
Why did Musk implement these limits? According to Musk, the limits are intended to address the widespread data scraping that occurs on Twitter, involving AI companies, startups, and tech giants. Musk expressed frustration with having to allocate additional servers to accommodate the valuation of certain AI startups.
What are users saying? Many Twitter users have expressed their dissatisfaction, with hashtags like “#TwitterDown” and “RIP Twitter” trending on the platform in recent days. These limits particularly impact accounts managed by informational agencies, journalists, and monitoring services, as they rely on reviewing thousands of tweets daily. The National Weather Service has even expressed concerns about being unable to access tweeted reports of severe weather and associated damage, urging subscribers to use their office telephone numbers instead.
What are the alternatives? Bluesky and Mastodon are the main alternatives to Twitter. These Twitter-like platforms experienced a surge in users and activity following Musk’s announcement of the limits. Bluesky, created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and currently in beta mode, reported “record high traffic” on Saturday and temporarily paused new sign-ups. Mastodon also saw its active user base increase by 110,000 on that day, according to its creator and CEO Eugen Rochko.
Article from www.reuters.com