Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has implemented a new policy requiring new users in New Zealand and the Philippines to pay a yearly fee of $1 to access the platform. The policy, which starts today, was reported Fortune’s Kylie Robinson and confirmed X itself. The platform stated that the new policy is part of a trial called “Not A Bot” and aims to minimize the influence of bots on the platform. Existing users will not be affected this trial.
This decision Elon Musk and his company comes after previous discussions about implementing changes to the platform’s payment plans. Last month, Musk mentioned the possibility of introducing a paywall for all X users during a livestream with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Musk stated that a paywall would be a defense against armies of bots. X has also recently considered trialing three premium service tiers based on the number of ads shown.
Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022, he has made several changes to the platform. In April, he replaced the legacy verification program with the Twitter Blue subscription program. In July, he rebranded the platform as X. These changes reflect Musk’s focus on making X profitable, particularly due to a decline in advertising revenues. In a tweet, Musk acknowledged the company’s challenging financial position and the need to reach positive cash flow.
Representatives for X have not yet responded to a request for comment from Insider outside regular business hours.