Elon Musk, after taking over Twitter, has once again announced a controversial step he will take for the platform. According to his latest post, Twitter users can now verify their accounts by paying subscription fees of $8 per month. Although Musk believes it will help the company generate more revenue than YouTube offers its creators, Twitter won’t be the only company to benefit from the move.
Initially, blue ticks were reserved only for famous personalities, such as politicians, government officials, news agencies or people of great importance, but now anyone with $8 in their pocket can get a blue verification mark next to their username. What makes this controversial are the fake accounts that can be created, impersonating either politicians spreading misinformation or news agencies spreading false information.
Since the service is currently being tested on iOS, Silicon Valley analysts may have understood that the subscription fee will be paid through in-app purchases for Apple devices. As a result, Apple will deduct 30% from the total subscription amount. That means if it charges $8 for verification, Twitter will get $5.60, while the remaining $2.40 will be deducted by Apple every time someone pays subscription fees.
That’s how Apple will benefit from Elon Musk’s new subscription feature.
The announcement was made earlier this week and testing for the feature has already begun. $8 a month won’t just get you a verification token; users will also be able to enjoy other new features, including a reduced number of ads and Twitter’s algorithm that puts them first. Users will also be able to post longer videos.
According to the new owner, he is finding ways through which Twitter can generate more revenue than ever. For this, the platform even laid off almost fifty percent of its workforce, calling it a step towards cost-cutting measures. In just a short time, Elon Musk has been embroiled in more controversies since taking over at Twitter. As those who have worked with him say, Elon Musk is very unpredictable, so anything can be expected from him.
Read more: Elon Musk announces more changes for Twitter including permanent bans and fixing Twitter search
