Elon Musk Announces ‘Temporary’ Limits on Twitter to Address Data Scraping and System Manipulation
Twitter owner Elon Musk has revealed ‘temporary’ limitations on the social media platform in an effort to combat “extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation.” In a series of tweets, Musk explained that verified accounts would be restricted to reading 6,000 posts per day, while unverified accounts and new unverified accounts would have limits of 600 and 300 posts per day, respectively.
Twitter owner Elon Musk has revealed ‘temporary’ limitations on the social media platform in an effort to combat “extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation.” In a series of tweets, Musk explained that verified accounts would be restricted to reading 6,000 posts per day, while unverified accounts and new unverified accounts would have limits of 600 and 300 posts per day, respectively.
The decision to impose these restrictions comes as a response to the prevalence of data scraping and system manipulation, which had been significantly affecting user experience on the platform. Musk stated that the high levels of data pilfering led to a degradation in service for normal users, prompting the need for immediate action.
Twitter recently implemented a temporary emergency measure requiring users to have an account on the platform in order to view tweets. Previously, anonymous users could freely browse content without the need for an account. Musk emphasized that this change was necessary due to rampant data pillaging and aggressive scraping of Twitter’s data by hundreds of organizations, potentially compromising user privacy.
Notably, Musk has expressed concerns in the past regarding the use of Twitter’s data by artificial intelligence firms such as OpenAI for training large language models. These concerns likely contributed to his decision to address the issue of data scraping on the platform.
While some users have expressed frustration with the new restrictions, viewing them as excessive, Musk is determined to tackle the issue and protect user data and experience. The limitations are expected to be temporary, with the aim of mitigating the impact of data scraping and system manipulation until more comprehensive solutions can be implemented.
In recent months, Twitter has been actively exploring strategies to diversify its revenue streams beyond digital advertising. The platform has focused on video, creator partnerships, and commerce initiatives to revitalize its business. Additionally, Twitter has started charging users for access to its application programming interface (API), primarily utilized by third-party apps and researchers.
Under Musk’s ownership, Twitter has made efforts to regain advertiser confidence and boost subscription revenue, including introducing verification checkmarks as part of the Twitter Blue program.
As the social media landscape continues to evolve, Twitter faces ongoing challenges in maintaining user privacy and combatting malicious activities. The temporary limits implemented by Musk are a response to these challenges and reflect Twitter’s commitment to improving its platform’s security and user experience.
Sources By Agencies
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