Elon Musk's X has started testing a potential sign-up fee for new users.
The company formerly known as Twitter has introduced a small $1 (82p) charge in New Zealand and the Philippines.
New accounts will not be able to post anything or directly interact with others without paying this $1 fee. They will instead be limited to reading and watching content, along with following other accounts. X has said the move aims to "reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity".
Elon has long complained about the presence of fake accounts on the platform, and unlike many other social media platforms, X appears to be the only one publicly explaining its methods & reasons to how & why bots should be eliminated. Whilst X is making noise in its pursuit, it does pose the question as to why so many other social media platforms remain quiet? Make no mistake about it, Bots are flooding other platforms such as Instagram, Facebook & TikTok.
Much of Musk's focus since taking ownership of the firm has been on monetising X's user base, with advertiser spending having dropped due to varies factors.
X already offers a premium subscription which gives users an improved experience, along with other benefits such as a verification tick, longer content posts with editing options and prioritises their account in search results.
Musk has acknowledged the new $1 fee "won't stop bots completely", but claimed "it will be 1000x harder to manipulate the platform".