Twitter chief Elon Musk has announced some new rules for the social media platform that he recently acquired. Moving forward, starting on April 15, only Twitter Blue subscribed users will be able to vote in polls. Not only this, only Blue subscribed users’ tweets will be recommended to other users, resulting in a low reach for users who opt to not buy the premium subscription of the micro-blogging platform.
While announcing the changes Musk said that it is “the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over.” Verified users are also going to become the only identities that can vote in surveys for the “same reason,” he added.
Last week, Twitter announced that it will take down the ‘legacy’ blue ticks on April Fool’s Day or April 1. Earlier in December 2022, the company announced that it would remove verified checks “in a few months”.
In a tweet on Friday, Twitter announced the move saying, “On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue here.”
Elon Musk, who took over the company last year, criticized the original concept of verified tick marks saying that “the way in which they were given out was corrupt and nonsensical.” And, he came up with a subscription service which is now known as ‘Twitter Blue,’ in an attempt to generate a new revenue stream for the company as well as “democratize” the micro-blogging platform.
Recently, Twitter announced pricing for its Twitter Blue subscription in India. The pricing for Twitter Blue is also announced for Indonesia and Brazil. Talking about India, the monthly Blue subscription will cost users Rs 650 for the web and Rs 900 each for Android and iOS devices. Twitter will charge Rs 6,800 for a yearly subscription.
