Users Now Able to Block Replies from Unverified Accounts on Elon Musk’s X

X, previously known as Twitter, has introduced a new feature that has sparked controversy among certain users. The social media platform, owned by Elon Musk, now allows users to limit replies to their posts exclusively to those who have been verified by X, indicating that they have a monthly subscription costing $7.99. Currently, X has not made this option the default setting, and the default remains as “everyone can reply” unless the user manually adjusts it. Some users are criticizing this feature as a form of a “paywall” for responding to posts, which is typically regarded as a fundamental aspect of social media platforms.

X’s official account announced the feature earlier today, posting: “You can now limit replies to verified users,” along with an image that showed an option to lock unverified accounts. Some users have mentioned that this feature is enabled only for power users to purchase a premium subscription, which Musk introduced almost a year ago as a paid confirmation that comes with a blue check mark.

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One user commented: “It’s going to be very difficult to be on this platform without a verified badge”.

X adds a reply lock for unverified accounts

Some arguments emphasize the futility and potentially harmful consequences of this feature. One of the main reasons this feature was added was to combat the ongoing bot problem on the platform, as many posts are filled with bot replies that either troll the post, spread misinformation, or just promote something.

However, as seen recently, X Premium also checks for bots and they have been seen flying a blue checkmark, defeating the purpose of this feature. In addition, most of the platform is still unconfirmed. By limiting the message to only verified accounts, its exposure and engagement will take a hit, which in turn will impact the revenue the account can generate for both the business and themselves.

Musk and company CEO Linda Yaccarino have recently been working to increase the number of X Premium subscribers. In a recent meeting with debt holders, Yaccarino revealed that X has started testing three different levels of its proposed premium subscription, namely Basic, Standard and Plus. The subscription tiers come with lower price tags to make it more profitable for people who aren’t willing to shell out $7.99 a month.

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