{"id":2038167,"date":"2023-09-20T00:02:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T04:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musk-says-x-platform-may-start-charging-monthly-payments-from-users\/"},"modified":"2023-09-20T00:04:08","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T04:04:08","slug":"musk-says-x-platform-may-start-charging-monthly-payments-from-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musk-says-x-platform-may-start-charging-monthly-payments-from-users\/","title":{"rendered":"Musk hints at potential monthly fees for &#8216;X&#8217; platform."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmusk-says-x-platform-may-start-charging-monthly-payments-from-users%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2038167&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>Social Media Platform X Considers Charging \u2063Users\u2063 to Combat Bot Networks<\/h2>\n<p>Social\u2063 media\u200b platform\u2063 X may\u200d start charging users a small fee in a bid\u2064 to counter the use of large bot networks, owner Elon Musk recently revealed during\u200b a conversation with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n<p>Mr.\u2063 Musk is considering \u201chaving a \u200dsmall monthly payment for the use of the X system\u201d since it is\u2062 the \u201conly way I can think of to\u2063 combat vast armies of bots,\u201d he said during a discussion with\u200b Prime Minister Netanyahu \u2064on\u2062 Monday. \u201cBecause \u200ca bot costs a fraction of a penny,\u2063 call it a tenth of a penny. But if somebody even has \u2062to pay a\u200b few dollars or\u200b something, some minor amount, \u200dthe effective cost of\u200c bots is very high.\u201d Mr. Musk\u2019s\u200c proposal to \u200bcharge X users came amid discussions regarding the use of bots to spread anti-Semitism on the platform.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to raising the cost \u200cof \u200coperating vast armies of \u200dbots, a\u200b small fee\u200b will also \u2063make such operations tougher since a new payment method has to be used every time a new bot is created, like getting a new\u200b credit card, he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2>Related Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/elon-musk-takes-shot-at-uaw-says-tesla-employees-are-better-paid-have-more-fun-5493758?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\">Elon Musk Takes Shot at UAW, Says Tesla Employees\u2063 Are Better\u2064 Paid, Have &#8216;More\u200b Fun&#8217;<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>9\/18\/2023<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/utterly-false-elon-musk-responds-to-wall-street-journals-tesla-report-5493746?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\">&#8216;Utterly False&#8217;: Elon Musk Responds to\u200d Wall Street Journal&#8217;s\u200d Tesla Report<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>9\/18\/2023<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cWe&#8217;re actually going to come \u200cout with a lower \u2063tier pricing,\u201d Mr. Musk stated. \u201cWe want it to be just a\u2062 small amount of money \u2026\u2062 In my view, this is\u200c actually the only defense against vast armies of bots because\u200d as the AI\u200c gets very, very good, it&#8217;s actually able to pass these sort of CAPTCHA tests better than humans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear whether Mr. Musk intends to charge a small fee for all X users or only introduce \u2062a\u2063 lower\u200c tier to the \u2063platform\u2019s X Premium \u200dprogram while keeping the network free for those who do \u2063not subscribe to it.<\/p>\n<p>The X Premium program costs $11 per month in the\u2064 United States for iOS and\u200d Android users, with web\u2064 users charged $8.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200c subscription gives users additional perks like the ability to edit posts in a\u200b one-hour window, be subjected to only half the ads, get\u200b prioritized rankings in search \u200dand \u2064conversations, write\u200d longer posts of\u2062 up to 25,000 characters, and \u2062upload videos up\u2062 to three hours\u200b long.<\/p>\n<p>X has already\u200b placed its API access program behind a \u200cpaywall, only offering exceptions to certain government organizations and other publicly\u200d owned services.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>Prior to February, X used to provide free access to API to developers. The company \u2062established API access tiers in a bid to boost revenues. At present, X only offers limited API access for free, with higher tiers charging \u200c$100 per month and above.<\/p>\n<h2>Antisemitism Charges<\/h2>\n<p>During \u2063the discussion, \u200dPrime Minister Netanyahu said, \u200c\u201cI don&#8217;t even know if\u200b it&#8217;s \u200ctechnically possible to prevent the use of bots, armies of bots [that] replicate and amplify it [antisemitism]. So, at least if you get a\u2063 crazy guy and a hateful guy, let him be \u2064speaking \u2063for one voice\u200b rather than\u200c arming an army\u200b of fake \u200dmillions to\u200d do this.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Lawmakers surround Israel&#8217;s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C)\u2063 at a session of the Knesset, Israel&#8217;s parliament, in Jerusalem on July 24, 2023.\u2062 (Maya Alleruzzo\/AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It \u2064is in answer to\u200c this question that Mr. Musk suggested implementing a fee to \u200cprevent the proliferation of \u200cbots \u200bon the platform.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Musk\u2019s conversation with the Israeli prime minister follows his recent announcement that\u2063 he may take \u200dlegal action against\u2062 the Anti-Defamation \u200cLeague (ADL), an \u2064advocacy for Jewish\u2064 causes.<\/p>\n<p>In a Sept.\u200b 4 post on X, Mr.\u2063 Musk said that since he acquired the network, the ADL \u201chas been trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it and me of being anti-Semitic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur U.S. advertising revenue is still down 60 percent, primarily due to \u200bpressure on advertisers by @ADL \u2063(that\u2019s what advertisers tell us), so they \u200calmost succeeded in killing X\/Twitter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf \u2062this continues, we will have no choice but to file a defamation suit against, ironically, the \u2018Anti-Defamation\u2019 League.\u2062 If they lose the\u2064 defamation suit, we will insist that they drop the \u2018anti\u2019 part of their name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Back in 2000,\u200c ADL was fined $10.5 million \u2063by a court in California over a defamation lawsuit. Commenting on the case, Mr. Musk said on X that ADL\u2062 will \u2064potentially be on the hook for destroying \u201chalf the value of our company,\u201d which would come to around\u2063 $22 billion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased on what we\u2019ve heard from advertisers, ADL \u2064seems to be\u200c responsible for most of our revenue loss. Giving them\u200c maximum \u200dbenefit\u200c of the doubt,\u200c I \u2062don\u2019t see any scenario where they\u2019re\u2062 responsible for less\u2064 than 10 \u2064percent of the value destruction, so ~$4\u2062 billion,\u201d Mr. \u2062Musk said in a Sept. 5 \u200cpost on \u200bX.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdvertisers avoid controversy, so all that is needed \u200bfor ADL to crush \u200bour U.S. and European ad revenue is to\u2064 make unfounded accusations,\u201d he wrote wrote in\u200d another\u200b post.<\/p>\n<p>X has\u200d faced antisemitism cases \u2064in \u2062Germany. In January, \u2062a lawsuit was filed in a German\u2063 court accusing the platform of promoting Holocaust \u2064denial, which is\u200d a crime in the country.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> \u2063What is the purpose of introducing a small monthly fee for users of platform X\u2062 according to Mr. Musk?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  September 18, 2023. (JALAA MAREY\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mr. Musk\u2019s proposal to charge users\u2063 of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/davis-j6-indictment-will-propel-trump-back-to-white-house\/\" title=\"Davis predicts J6 indictment to boost Trump's return to White House.\">social \u2064media \u2062platform<\/a>\u200b X comes at a time when the \u200cuse \u2064of large bot networks has become a growing concern. Speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr. Musk \u200dexpressed his intention to\u200c implement a small monthly fee for the use of\u2063 the \u2064platform as a means to\u2062 combat these networks.<\/p>\n<p>According to Mr. \u2064Musk, a small fee could\u200d significantly raise the\u200d cost of operating bot networks. &#8220;Because \u200ca bot costs a fraction of a penny,\u200c call it a \u200btenth of a penny. But if \u2064somebody even \u200chas to pay a few \u200ddollars or something, some minor amount, \u200bthe effective cost of\u2063 bots is very high.&#8221; By introducing a fee,\u2064 the aim \u200dis to make such operations more \u2062difficult \u200bas a new payment \u200cmethod would have to be used for each new bot created.<\/p>\n<p>The issue of bots \u200don\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platforms<\/a>, \u200dparticularly\u200d in relation\u200d to\u200c spreading anti-Semitism, was\u2062 a key topic of discussion between Mr. Musk and Prime Minister Netanyahu. \u2063The proposed \u2063fee\u2062 would serve as\u200b a defense against the use of vast armies of bots, especially as artificial intelligence continues\u2063 to improve and becomes better at passing\u2062 CAPTCHA tests.<\/p>\n<p>It \u2064remains unclear whether the small fee would \u200bbe applicable to all users of platform X or if it would be introduced as a lower tier in the platform&#8217;s\u200b X Premium program, keeping the\u200d network \u2063free for those who\u2062 choose not \u200cto subscribe. Currently, \u200bthe X Premium program costs $11\u2064 per month for \u200biOS and \u2063Android users in the \u2063United States and\u2063 $8\u2063 for web\u200d users. Subscribers to \u2063this program enjoy benefits such \u200cas the ability to edit posts within a one-hour window, reduced exposure\u200d to ads, prioritized rankings in search results and conversations, longer \u2062post \u2064lengths, and the ability to upload longer videos.<\/p>\n<p>In an effort to boost revenue, X\u2062 has already placed its API access \u200bprogram behind a paywall. \u200bOnly certain government organizations and publicly owned services are \u2064granted exceptions\u200d and\u200c allowed free\u2064 access. Prior to February, X provided free access to its API to developers. However, with \u2064the introduction of\u2062 API access tiers, the \u200bcompany now charges higher tiers at \u200d$100 \u2064per month and above.<\/p>\n<p>During the \u200bdiscussion, Prime \u2062Minister Netanyahu expressed doubts about the technical feasibility of preventing the use of bot networks to replicate and amplify instances of anti-Semitism. Nonetheless, he emphasized the importance of limiting the impact by allowing individual voices\u2063 to be heard\u200d rather than \u200denabling the spread of fake voices \u200dthrough armies of bots.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Musk&#8217;s proposal \u200bto introduce a small \u2062fee for users of platform X reflects \u2064a proactive approach to addressing the growing issue\u2062 of bot networks. By\u200d implementing this measure, the platform aims to reduce the impact \u200bof bots\u2064 on its\u2063 users while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musk-says-x-platform-may-start-charging-monthly-payments-from-users\/\" title=\"Musk hints at potential monthly fees for 'X' platform.\">simultaneously generating additional\u2063 revenue<\/a> to further enhance \u2064its services and combat the spread of malicious content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social media platform X might introduce a nominal fee to tackle the issue of extensive bot networks, according to Elon Musk. In a discussion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Musk suggested implementing a small monthly payment for using the X system. This approach aims to address the problem effectively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":2038168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2038167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2038167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2038167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2038167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2038168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2038167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2038167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2038167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}