Social network X, formerly known as Twitter, has introduced a $1 annual fee for new users in New Zealand and the Philippines, which Elon Musk says is aimed at combating bots.

Starting October 17, 2023, we began testing Not A Bot, a new subscription method for new users in two countries. This new test is designed to support our already significant efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform, and bot activity. This will allow us to evaluate a potentially powerful measure that will help us combat bots and spammers on X, while combining the accessibility of the platform with a small amount of commission. Existing users are left untouched as part of this testing. X

New accounts created in New Zealand and the Philippines will first need to verify their phone number and then pay a $1 annual fee to be able to share, like, reply, reshare, quote and bookmark.

New users who disable this option will only be able to perform read-only activities such as reading messages, watching videos, and following accounts.

This new program aims to protect against bots and spammers trying to manipulate the platform and harass other X users. We look forward to sharing more details about the results in the near future. Source