Twitter has announced a $100 monthly subscription fee for “low-level” use of its Application Program Interface (API).
Last week, Twitter CEO Elon Musk issued a $100 monthly fee for API access, saying the interface was being “grossly abused” by “bot scammers and opinion manipulators”.
At the time, he did not specify what level of access the membership would allow.
The company said last week that it would stop free access to the API and plans to start charging from February 9. That deadline has been extended to February 13.
Popular third-party services, including Tweetbot and Twitterrific, rely on the use of Twitter’s API.
Some of these services were forced to shut down in mid-January after Twitter blocked access.
Some Tweetbot and Twitterrific users told Insider’s Kate Duffy they were considering leaving Twitter after their access to third-party apps was revoked.
Responding to users’ feedback, Elon Musk said the company would provide a “write-only” API for bots posting “good,” free content.
Since acquiring the company in October, Musk has been on a mission to cut Twitter’s operating costs and grow its revenue.
He had earlier said that the company was losing $4 million a day.
Twitter did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment made outside normal business hours.
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Information Source: BusinessInsider