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Ariana Baio
Feb 02, 2023
Elon Musk Wants Twitter Payments System to Integrate Crypto: FT
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Why give away something for free when you can charge for it?
That seems to be the new motto at Twitter since Elon Musk has begun implementing paid features like Twitter verification, subscriber-only spaces, exclusive tweets, and more.
Now add Twitter’s application programming interface (API) to that list.
API is software that allows two computer programs to communicate with each other. When implemented, it allows third parties to access data public data.
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API is what gives Twitter bots like Random Restuarant, screenshot bot Pikaso, alt Text reader, New New York Times, and more the ability to autonomously tweet.
But on Thursday, Twitter announced it will be implementing a paywall for Twitter data starting February 9th.
\u201cStarting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API, both v2 and v1.1. A paid basic tier will be available instead \ud83e\uddf5\u201d— Twitter Dev (@Twitter Dev) 1675317925
“Twitter data are among the world’s most powerful data sets. We’re committed to enabling fast & comprehensive access so you can continue to build with us,” TwitterDev wrote.
This means automated accounts would stop working next week unless the people behind the accounts pay for Twitter API.
Basic Twitter API is free-to-use for everyone however it only allows for 250 requests per month. Premium Twitter API costs anywhere from $149 to $2,499 depending on how many requests per month a person wants.
Several accounts, including @PossumEveryHour, @folklorebot, @SbFramesInOrder, and more indicated their accounts would stop running on February 9th due to the changes.
\u201cHi All, I regret to announce you all that this bot will stop working on 9th of February (Next week) due to new Twitter's API policy. I have no intention on paying Twitter for basic API usage.\n\nYou can continue to follow the bot on Mastodon:\nhttps://t.co/tGsVdbTKyu \n\nIt's been fun\u201d— Possum Every Hour (Please See Pinned Tweet) (@Possum Every Hour (Please See Pinned Tweet)) 1675337994
Twitter users expressed anger over the change and criticised the new payment tier.
"Rip" and sad emojis filled the replies of people's favorite automated accounts.
\u201c@TwitterDev\u201d— Twitter Dev (@Twitter Dev) 1675317925
\u201cimagine thinking your api that most people use for hobbies and shit is actually monetizable to anyone besides corporations\n\nRIP to all the undergrad projects using the Twitter API / all the hourly animal pic bots / people's shitty little hobby bots / all the passion projects\u201d— \ud83c\udf12\ud83c\udf15\ud83c\udf18 (@\ud83c\udf12\ud83c\udf15\ud83c\udf18) 1675355325
\u201c@TwitterDev Would be a good time to add a dislike button too because this is a whole new level of stupid.\u201d— Twitter Dev (@Twitter Dev) 1675317925
\u201c@TwitterDev This sucks and is a terrible idea, don\u2019t do this.\u201d— Twitter Dev (@Twitter Dev) 1675317925
The tiered payment system seems to be a reflection of Musk's efforts to make Twitter profitable. In the last four months, Musk laid off more than half of Twitter's staff, stopped paying rent on spaces, and sold off furniture.
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