Tesla chief Elon Musk has decided to temporarily limit the number of Tweets users will be able to read in one day, citing "extreme" data scraping and "system manipulation".
Musk said these limits are temporary, and verified accounts have been limited to reading 6,000 posts per day, while unverified accounts can read only up to 600 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."
After much uproar, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who is executive chairman and CTO of Twitter, clarified the tweet reading "rate limits increasing soon to 8000 for verified, 800 for unverified & 400 for new unverified". Later, he revised the limit again to "10k, 1k & 0.5k, respectively”.
The development comes as several users complained of receiving prompts such as “rate limit exceeded" or "cannot retrieve tweets", while using Twitter. However, it was not clear whether the issues were related to Musk's latest diktats.
In addition to this, Twitter has also blocked access to view content on the platform for those who don’t have an official account on it. Earlier, those who wished to view any Twitter account could see it on the platform, even if they didn't have any account on the platform. However, the platform directs the user onto its platform now to create an account, rather than showing the content.
Some experts are saying Musk's decision to implement a viewing limit could have come after several technical glitches on the platform. Notably, users faced technical glitches on the website, including the inability to post anything on the website or delay in loading pictures, in February and March 2023. Some even blamed it on massive layoffs at Twitter. The Microblogging platform sacked 50% of its workforce after Musk took over the platform last year.
Musk last month appointed a new Twitter chief executive officer Linda Yaccarino, who previously worked as the chairman of global advertising and partnership at NBC Universal. On joining Twitter, she said: "Our first principles are questioning our assumptions and building something new from the ground up. It’s rare to have the chance to put a new future into the hands of every person, partner, and creator on the planet. That’s exactly why I’m here – with all of YOU."
The Tesla CEO bought Twitter for $44 billion in October last year. The microblogging platform's acquisition concluded after a long legal battle, which saw many flip-flops by Musk, forcing Twitter to move to court against him.
In April 2023, Musk admitted he only went through with the acquisition because a U.S. court was about to force him to buy Twitter. Running Twitter has been 'quite painful', he said during a BBC interview, adding that Twitter is headed to a 'good place'. When asked whether he would sell the platform to someone who offers $44 billion, Musk said it depends on the buyer.
