Elon Musk believes that Twitter can be used to give away ‘good’ bots

Elon Musk reversed his plans to end all access to Twitter’s API programming interface (API) in a surprising, but unexpected, move. In a Saturday night tweet, the billionaire stated that only “good” bots would be able to access limited API access at no cost.

“Responding To Feedback, Twitter will enable light, write-only APIs for bots providing quality content that is free,” said the Twitter CEO in a thread about the popular, automated @PepitoTheCat account.

Pepito the Cat Causes Change. Twitter announced on Thursday that it would no longer allow free access to its Twitter API. This was effective in banning all bots and dooming third-party apps.

“This will destroy @PepitoTheCat’s account. Pepito is a part of Twitter history. He post quality content with great engagement,” tweeted The account. It has more than 211,000 subscribers and uploads videos of the cat exiting or entering his home through a catdoor. Musk’s determination to eliminate all bots was not enough to address the Pepito concern. Musk wrote that “I suppose we could allow all Verified users to access the API for posts such as this,” before declaring the policy change.

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What does the API do? It allows access to Twitter’s application programming interface. This is crucial for widgets such as Tweetific and Tweetbot that are created by non-Twitter users, automated accounts and online researchers. The API is the software intermediary behind the scenes that allows outside sources to access site data and interact with the platform’s digital infrastructure. Many account owners, researchers, developers, and others declared their dissatisfaction with Twitter’s API.

The backlash against the API changes grew as Musk announced that the entry-level paid Tier would cost $100 per Month and users realized that even seemingly innocuous automated accounts such as @PepitoTheCat or @colorize_bot would be affected. Musk changed his strategy, which was not surprising.

This is Musk’s latest example of quickly changing a Twitter policy idea to respond to negative feedback. It happened just days after he announced planned platform adjustments. The multihyphenate CEO had previously flipped-flopped on issues such as the price and implementation for his chaotic verification system and bans on some accounts. He also banned links to other social media sites. Musk has been a fast learner since he took over at Twitter. He is quick to change his mind and frequently tweets about these changes.

The “Chief Twit” claimed that the plan to remove free API access was one to reduce “scammers and opinion manipulators.” However, this move to further monetize Twitter’s interface is happening amid Twitter’s growing financial difficulties and huge looming debt. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the company for failing to pay rent. The company has also cut more than half of its staff since November and even auctioned off furniture as part of its corporate austerity measures.

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By: unknown
Title: Elon Musk Says Actually ‘Good’ Bots Can Stay on Twitter for Free
Sourced From: gizmodo.com/twitter-bots-api-elon-musk-pepito-the-cat-1850077791