New Restrictions on Twitter Imposed by Elon Musk: Will Users and Advertisers Migrate to Other Platforms?

Unlike their counterparts on TikTok and Instagram, Twitter users are now facing constraints. The platform’s owner, Elon Musk, has implemented tweet limits, a drastic measure that could potentially repel advertisers and diminish Twitter’s reputation as a social trendsetter.

Tracking a live sports event, significant weather updates, or breaking news has become increasingly challenging with Musk’s latest restrictions. These curbs, intended to ease the stress on the company’s overstretched web infrastructure, limit the number of tweets users can view.

Elon Musk recently brought on Linda Yaccarino, a seasoned executive from NBC Universal, as Twitter’s CEO to regain the trust of advertisers. These advertisers have been discontented by several modifications implemented since Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in the previous year. Despite this, Yaccarino has remained silent about the fresh constraints, which prevent users from viewing excess tweets in a day. Musk has been left to introduce and justify these changes.

According to Forrester analyst Mike Proulx, these adjustments are “significantly detrimental to Twitter’s users and advertisers,” shrinking the scope and interaction advertisers rely upon. “The lack of trust from advertisers that Linda Yaccarino needs to restore has only intensified, and her industry credibility alone can’t rectify it,” Proulx asserted.

On inquiring about the duration of the imposed limits, an automated reply was sent by Twitter without a direct answer to the question.

Musk, over the weekend, tried clarifying how the constraints work. Non-subscription accounts will temporarily be confined to reading 600 posts a day, whereas verified accounts can peruse up to 6,000. Following backlash, he revised the limits to 1,000 and 10,000 tweets respectively for unverified and verified accounts.

Enberg noted that the limits would be swiftly reached by unverified users due to their typical behavior of consuming rather than producing content. He stressed that Musk should promote engagement to demonstrate Twitter’s vitality amidst rising competition.

Proulx suggested the “actual motive behind Musk’s temporary rate limits” remains ambiguous.

Musk rationalized the new restrictions as a precautionary move against unauthorized data scraping, degrading the user experience. In an additional shift, Twitter now necessitates user login to view tweets and profiles.

Musk has decried the misuse of Twitter data to train AI systems like ChatGPT, which process extensive online information to produce human-like content.

The higher tweet viewing threshold for verified accounts is part of an $8-per-month subscription service launched by Musk to enhance Twitter’s revenue, which has significantly decreased since his takeover and subsequent layoffs.

Twitter has witnessed a reduction in ad expenditure due to changes allowing more contentious or provocative content, thereby offending a broader section of the platform’s audience.

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More about Twitter restrictions

• Elon Musk’s Twitter Changes
• Forrester’s Analyst on Twitter Restrictions
• Linda Yaccarino, New Twitter CEO
• Twitter’s Revenue Model under Musk
• Twitter’s Shift in Content Policy