Elon Musk Implements Temporary Limits on Twitter Post Reading
Elon Musk, Chief Technology Officer and owner of Twitter, has announced temporary restrictions on the number of tweets people can read. The decision was made in response to concerns about “extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation.” Verified accounts will have a daily limit of 10,000 tweets, while unverified accounts will be restricted to 1,000 tweets per day. Newly created unverified accounts will face a limit of 500 tweets daily. Musk initially proposed stricter limits but adjusted them shortly afterward.
No specific timeline has been provided for when the restrictions will be lifted. The announcement comes after users reported encountering error messages indicating an inability to retrieve tweets. Downdetector, a website that monitors internet disruptions, noted that thousands of individuals experienced difficulties accessing the social media platform.
In a separate development, Twitter recently began restricting content for users without accounts. Musk stated that immediate and drastic action was necessary due to the “EXTREME levels of data scraping.”
Data scraping refers to the practice of extracting large amounts of data from websites, including social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Organizations often engage in scraping to gather data for purposes such as monitoring competitors, gaining insights into specific audiences, tracking market trends, and comparing prices. However, scraping can become a privacy concern when it involves personal information, such as contact details, and can potentially violate EU regulations if companies fail to take appropriate technical and legal measures to prevent it. In November 2022, Meta (formerly Facebook) faced a €265 million ($277 million) fine from the EU for its failure to safeguard user data against third-party scraping activities.
Twitter is an online social media service owned by X Corp., an American company and the successor of Twitter, Inc. Outside the United States, Twitter users are served by Twitter International Unlimited Company based in Ireland, making them subject to Irish and European Union data protection laws.
On Twitter, users share texts, images, and videos called “tweets.” Registered users can tweet, like, retweet, and direct message other users. Twitter can be accessed through browsers, mobile apps, or programmatically using APIs.
Founded in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams, Twitter quickly gained popularity. Its former parent company, Twitter, Inc., had a global presence with over 25 offices. By 2012, the platform had over 100 million users posting 340 million tweets daily and handling billions of search queries. It became one of the most-visited websites and was often referred to as “the SMS of the Internet.” As of 2019, Twitter had more than 330 million monthly active users, with a minority of users responsible for the majority of tweets. Approximately 15% of all accounts were estimated to be fake in 2020.
In October 2022, business magnate Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion, taking control of the platform. Since then, there have been concerns about an increase in hate speech content, as Musk has emphasized a focus on free speech. Musk announced his intention to step down as CEO, with Linda Yaccarino, former head of ad sales for NBCUniversal, assuming the position in June 2023.
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