Twitter's New $1 Annual Fee Sparks Controversy and Backlash

X, formerly known as Twitter, has launched a program in limited territories that charges new signups a $1 annual fee to combat spam, bot activity, and manipulation. The program, called Not A Bot, is currently live in New Zealand and the Philippines and aims to balance platform accessibility with a small fee. Existing users are not affected. X stated that the program is not a profit driver and subscription options have proven to be an effective solution. However, there is skepticism about its ability to stop bots, as many users have noticed an increase in spam. Elon Musk, the owner of X, has expressed his desire to turn the platform into an "everything" app that includes payment services.