Elon Musk announced new “temporary” limits on how many posts people can read on twitter

Elon Musk has introduced new temporary restrictions on the number of posts people can read on Twitter. Unverified accounts will now be limited to 600 posts per day, while “new” unverified accounts will have a limit of 300 posts per day. Verified accounts, including those obtained through the Twitter Blue subscription or granted by organizations, as well as accounts verified by Elon Musk himself (such as those belonging to Stephen King and LeBron James), will still be able to read a maximum of 6,000 posts per day.

Shortly after this announcement, Musk tweeted that the rate limits would soon increase to 8,000 posts for verified users, 800 posts for unverified users, and 400 posts for new unverified accounts.

These limitations were implemented shortly after Twitter began blocking access for non-logged-in users. Musk claimed this was necessary due to aggressive scraping of Twitter data by several hundred organizations, which was negatively impacting the user experience.

Musk has been exploring various ways to monetize Twitter in recent months. In March, the company announced changes to its API, introducing charges for its usage. Additionally, the Twitter Blue pay-for-verification program was launched at a cost of $8 per month. Musk has also appointed a new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, to rebuild relationships with advertisers who had reduced their spending on Twitter. The importance of advertising revenue to the business is evident with these developments. However, limiting access to the platform contradicts the goal of providing opportunities for advertisers to reach their target audience, suggesting that Musk’s perspective on Twitter as a monopoly may be overshadowing this aspect.