Talking Point: What do you think of Twitter restrictions on non-verified accounts?

Elon Musk hopes restricting non-verified accounts will stop AI bots from “taking over” the platform
(Yui Mok/PA)
PA Wire
Matthew Covell28 March 2023
WEST END FINAL

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Twitter boss, Elon Musk has announced a dramatic shake-up to the ways users will be able to access Tweets. From April 15th, only subscribers to the platform’s paid for ‘Twitter Blue’ plan will be able to have their posts recommended to other users under the “For you” stream of tweets.

The cost of Twitter Blue - which adds a blue tick to an account - is currently $7 (£5.70) per month.

Musk wrote on Twitter: “Starting April 15th, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations.”

He continued, “The [sic] is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle. Voting in polls will require verification for same reason.”

What do you think of Twitter restrictions on non-verified accounts? Let us know in the comments for your chance to be featured on the ES website.

Commenting on Instagram, @sayathousandwords suggested that TFL “should be spending that money on expanding the night tube!”

Another reader commented: “Can we just spend the money on train maintenance? Most of us want to get to our destination, whatever it may be called”.

However, @jagohazzard defended the proposal writing that: “£4 million is absolutely nothing. The upgrade of Bank station cost £700 million. The Barking Riverside extension was £327 million. This is a tiny amount of money in the grand scheme of things that will make the system easier to use both now and looking ahead to future expansions of the network.”

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