X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, has begun testing $1-per-year subscription fees for new accounts on the web that want to post or interact with other users, saying this measure can reduce spam, automated bot accounts, and manipulation of its services.
The test, called “Not a Bot,” has been launched in New Zealand and the Philippines, X said in a blog post on Tuesday. New users who do not pay a fee cannot take certain actions, including writing, liking, replying or bookmarking posts on the site.
“This will evaluate a potentially robust measure to help us combat bots and spammers at X, while balancing platform accessibility with smaller fee amounts,” According to the blog post. “During this test, existing users are not affected.”
The San Francisco-based company has been on the lookout for new revenue sources since billionaire Elon Musk’s chaotic takeover last year, which saddled it with $13 billion in debt and drove away advertisers worried about loosening content-safety rules. X owes about $1.2 billion a year in interest payments on acquisition-related debt, Bloomberg previously estimated.
To revive growth, X plans to test three tiers of its premium service, and introduce additional features that could generate revenue such as shopping and payments, Chief Executive Officer Linda Yaccarino told bankers earlier this month. X’s premium plan, which currently costs $7.99 a month, will be divided into tiers that will allow the company to charge customers different amounts depending on how many ads are shown.
The two test markets required new X users to either subscribe to the “Not a Bot” program or an X Premium tier, known for giving paying subscribers a blue check mark, to write posts and interact with them.
“Free to read, but $1/year to write,” Musk posted on X after the announcement. “The only way to fight bots without blocking real users.”