Twitter has put a temporary limit on the number of tweets that users can see each day, this move has spark some backlash and could undermine the social network’s efforts to attract advertisers.
The limit, impose to “address extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation“, is the latest change by Twitter, which was in 2022 acquire by Elon Musk for $44 billion (approx. Rs. 3,60,550 crore).
Users Impact
Users cannot view tweets without logging in to the platform.
Verified accounts can now read 6,000 posts per day, unverified accounts 600 posts and new un-verified accounts 300 posts.
Users will get a message that says, “rate limit exceeded“.
Elon Musk has said that limit will “soon” increase to 10,000 for verified, 1,000 for unverified and 500 for new unverified.
Elon Musk has pushing to make Twitter’s overhaul verified service more attractive.
He made Twitter verified, a special badges that were earlier given to notable profiles, a paid subscription and introduce tiers like gray, blue and golden badges.
Twitter Limits Number of Tweets Free and Verified Users Can Read, No Access Without Account
— 2YoDoINDIA News Network (@2yodoindia) July 3, 2023
for more news visit https://t.co/98KV4yIruC#2YoDoINDIA #Twitter #ElonMusk #Tweets #TwitterUpdate pic.twitter.com/7bNuKdAdD0
Reason to put Limit
Elon Musk said the limits would help tackle scraping vast amounts of data from Twitter by almost everyone from AI companies and startups to tech behemoths.
Elon Musk said in a tweet :
“It is rather galling to have to bring large numbers of servers online on an emergency basis just to facilitate some AI startup’s outrageous valuation,”.
The technology behind generative AI tools such as ChatGPT is trained on massive amounts of data taken from the internet that helps produce everything from poems to pictures.
Twitter 'Relaunches' TweetDeck, Set to Limit Access to Twitter Blue Subscribers by August
— 2YoDoINDIA News Network (@2yodoindia) July 4, 2023
For more news visit https://t.co/98KV4yIruC#2YoDoINDIA #Tweetdeck #Twitter #TwitterBlue #TwitterVerification pic.twitter.com/ewxjOCv5H9
Users Reactions
Many Twitter users complain, with “#TwitterDown” and “RIP Twitter” trending on the social network website over the past couple of days.
This limits especially impact accounts run by informational agencies, journalists and monitoring services as they rely on reviewing thousands of tweets every day.
National Weather Service said it may be unable to see tweeted reports of severe weather and associate damage, and ask subscribers to use its office telephone numbers instead.
Twitter Now Needs Users to Sign In to View Tweets, Owner Elon Musk Calls it ‘Temporary Emergency Measure’
— 2YoDoINDIA News Network (@2yodoindia) July 1, 2023
for more news visit https://t.co/98KV4yIruC#2YoDoINDIA #Twitter #ElonMusk #Microsoft #SatyaNadella #TwitterBlue #ChatGPT #AI #ArtificialIntelligence pic.twitter.com/CIcL8bT7Tt
Alternatives
Twitter-like platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon are the main alternatives.
They saw a surge in users and activity soon after Elon Musk announce the limits.
Bluesky, launch by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and now in the beta mode, said it saw “record high traffic” on Saturday and that it was temporarily pausing new sign-ups.
KOO, an Indian version of Twitter also also be use as day by day Koo is also getting a high traffic.
Mastodon also saw its active user base swell by 110,000 on that day, its creator and CEO Eugen Rochko said.
Rahul Ram Dwivedi (RRD) is a senior journalist in 2YoDoINDIA.
NOTE : Views expressed are personal.
