X introduced paid user registration in two countries

Social network X has started testing paid account creation for $1 for residents of New Zealand and the Philippines.

NEWS: X will require new users in New Zealand and the Philippines to pay $1 to create accounts! pic.twitter.com/lufk2qpO7n

— X News Daily (@xDaily) October 18, 2023

According to the owner of the social network, Elon Musk, the decision was made to combat bots. Users will still be able to create read-only accounts for free.

Correct, read for free, but $1/year to write. It’s the only way to fight bots without blocking real users.

This won’t stop bots completely, but it will be 1000X harder to manipulate the platform.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 18, 2023

The new registration process is practically no different from the old one. After entering your details and confirming your phone number, you must select a subscription plan.

The initiative was met with criticism on social networks. According to some users, paid posts on X hinder audience engagement.

I am a verified user and against bots.

But isn’t this a friction for the process for people to join? As someone from a developing country, many won’t have a bank account, and if you’re young and let’s say 15 and want to micro blog and comment on this, this is a barrier

How to…

— High IQ Posts (@HighIQPosts) October 18, 2023

At the end of September, Musk already proposed charging a “small fee” for using X in a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the head of the social network, the platform has 550 million monthly users who generate 100 to 200 million posts daily.

Elon Musk’s previous initiative to rid X of bots with an $8-a-month paid subscription didn’t yield significant results. A dappGambl study showed that about 10% of followers on popular cryptocurrency-themed accounts are still fake.