Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced that the social media platform would be imposing “temporary limits” on the number of tweets users read. This decision came in response to a surge in data scraping activities and the strain it placed on Twitter’s servers.
Musk took to Twitter on Friday night to inform users about the emergency measures the company had to take due to AI companies scraping an alarming amount of data from the platform. He mentioned the urgent need to bring additional servers online to handle the unprecedented load. This development indicated the severity of the situation and the need for immediate action.
Musk further revealed that the platform would temporarily limit the number of tweets users could read each day. This move aimed to not only address the ongoing scraping issue but also regulate the extent of user engagement with the platform. Verified accounts will have a cap of 6,000 posts per day; unverified accounts will be capped at 600 posts per day; and new and unverified accounts will be capped at 300 posts per day.
To address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation, we’ve applied the following temporary limits:
– Verified accounts are limited to reading 6000 posts/day
– Unverified accounts to 600 posts/day
– New unverified accounts to 300/day— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 1, 2023
However, Musk didn’t stop there. Just two hours after the initial announcement, he tweeted a new update on restrictions, “Rate limits increasing soon to 8000 for verified, 800 for unverified & 400 for new unverified.” This adjustment indicated a slight relaxation of the limitations, but still maintained an overall control on the amount of content users could consume.
Users who have reached their limit are notified with the message ‘Rate limit exceeded’ when they scroll through the app. These temporary limits have sparked mixed reactions among Twitter users. Some argue that they infringe upon their freedom to access and engage with content, while others appreciate the proactive steps taken by Twitter to protect the platform from data scraping abuses. The issue has generated intense discussions on the platform, with thousands of tweeps sharing their thoughts and concerns.
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