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- Elon Musk says he's considering moving X behind a paywall.
- The billionaire commented during a livestreamed conversation with Israel's prime minister.
- Some users are unhappy with the idea and threatening to leave the app.
Elon Musk has suggested yet another shakeup for X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The billionaire is considering moving the historically free app behind a paywall.
During a livestream on X with Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday, he said: "The single most important reason that we are moving to having a small monthly payment for the use of the X system, is it is the only way I could think of to combat vast armies of bots."
"We are actually going to come up with a lower-tier pricing. We want it to be just a small amount of money," he continued. "It's a longer discussion, but this is actually the only defense against armies of bots."
Musk has reportedly been mulling the idea for some time. Tech newsletter Platformer reported the Tesla CEO discussed the idea with one of his advisers, venture capitalist David Sacks, last year.
It's unclear if the comments signal an imminent policy change for everyone, but some users are already taking to the platform to voice their opinions.
"There really is no doubt that he simply wants to kill the platform," one X user said of the decision. While another declared the platform "dead," adding: "No way I'm paying for Musk's space vanity-project scam."
Comedian Chelsea Hart said the suggested paywall may hinder free speech and citizen journalism in some countries, something Musk claims to support.
They said: "If you want to charge for this platform you are personally putting a nail in the coffin of any and all citizen journalism from countries under international sanctions. The most brutalized among us will be personally shut up by you."
Another user, Bradley Wall, told his followers if a paywall was implemented, he would quit the platform: "I just want you all to know I've loved connecting with you, sharing my thoughts and my adventures.
"But sadly I will not be paying a single cent to this app."
Another user seconded this: "I believe social media should be free to users, so if that happens, I'll be decamping to the other place permanently."
Representatives for X did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours.
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By: bnolan@insider.com (Beatrice Nolan)
Title: ‘He simply wants to kill the platform’: Some X users are threatening to quit the app after Elon Musk suggested he might move it behind a paywall
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/x-users-paywall-quit-app-elon-musk-twitter-2023-9
Published Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2023 10:25:43 +0000
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