New users have to pay 'small amount' to post and interact on social media platform

NEW YORK: There were earlier reports that Elon Musk is moving ahead with plans to charge for services at social media platform X. Now, Musk has confirmed that X will soon start charging a small fee for new users who want to post on the platform.

"Unfortunately, a small fee for new user write access is the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots. Current AI (and troll farms) can pass “are you a bot” with ease.," Elon Musk said on X.

New users will have to pay for posting, liking and replying on X.

However, there is no word on how much the charges will be or when the system will come into effect. A new account user does not need to pay to search other people's profiles or read their posts.

Countries like the Philippines and New Zealand have started charging for such services on an experimental basis. Bot accounts are a big challenge for X. Bots are mostly used for campaigns and scams. The new decision is based on the assumption that the credibility of the company can be maintained if these are controlled.