Twitter temporarily restricts tweets users can see, Elon Musk announces
Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, has announced that the platform has implemented a temporary restriction on the amount of tweets users are able to peruse within a 24-hour period.
According to Mr. Musk's tweet, unconfirmed accounts are presently restricted to perusing 600 posts within a 24-hour span.
The count for newly registered unverified accounts is 300. However, accounts labeled as "verified" currently have a restriction of only 6,000 daily posts.
According to Mr. Musk, the temporary restrictions were put in place to tackle the issue of "excessive data extraction and manipulation of the system."
He failed to clarify the definition of system manipulation within this framework. Data scraping involves extracting data from a website and transferring it to a different software or program.
On Friday, Mr. Musk clarified that due to excessive data theft, the service for regular users was being compromised. This became evident when users were confronted with prompts to log in for accessing Twitter content.
The action was referred to as a "short-term, urgent step."
In a recent update, Mr. Musk mentioned that numerous organizations (perhaps even more than anticipated) were vigorously extracting data from Twitter.
He later mentioned that there was a weight on his website, expressing how frustrating it was to urgently add numerous servers.
A server pertains to a robust computer that oversees and retains files, rendering services like web pages for individuals.
As per the Downdetector website, which keeps tabs on internet service disruptions, a maximum of 5,126 individuals registered difficulties reaching the platform in the United Kingdom at 4:12 PM British Summer Time on Saturday.
In the United States, approximately 7,461 individuals experienced malfunctions simultaneously.
Following the initial announcement of the prescribed thresholds for reading on Saturday, Mr. Musk further mentioned that these limits would increase in the near future. He stated that unverified accounts would soon have the ability to read up to 800 tweets per day, for new unverified accounts the limit would be 400, while verified accounts could enjoy an increased limit of 8,000 tweets per day.
Indicated by a blue checkmark, Twitter used to grant the "verified" status to notable accounts at no cost prior to Mr. Musk assuming control of the platform.
Currently, the majority of users are required to make a monthly payment starting at $8 (£6.30) in order to obtain verified status. This verification can be obtained irrespective of one's profile.
Several well-known accounts have obtained a verification symbol without any monetary transaction, although a considerable number of them had their blue checkmarks temporarily removed in April.
After a lengthy negotiation process, Mr. Musk acquired the company for a staggering $44 billion (£35 billion) investment. Throughout the discussions, he expressed dissatisfaction with the previous management of Twitter and expressed concern regarding the platform's potential transformation into an echo chamber.
Shortly after assuming control, he downsized the workforce, decreasing it from nearly 8,000 employees to approximately 1,500.
During a conversation with the BBC, he expressed that reducing the number of employees was a challenging task.
The company downsized and laid off engineers, which created worries about the platform's reliability.
However, despite acknowledging certain issues, Mr. Musk reassured the BBC in April that any disruptions were brief and the website was functioning effectively.
Check out this Elon Musk BBC interview that will completely catch you off guard... and it's only 90 seconds long!
