Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who also serves as executive chairman and CTO of Twitter, recently announced temporary limitations on the number of posts users can view per day on the platform. Musk cited concerns of “extreme levels of data scraping” and “system manipulation” as the reasons behind these restrictions. While the limits are intended to address these issues, Musk assured users that they will only be temporary.
Temporary Limits on Post Views: According to Musk’s announcement, verified accounts will have a daily limit of 8,000 posts, unverified accounts will be limited to 800 posts per day, and new unverified accounts will have a restriction of 400 posts per day. However, Musk later tweeted that these limits would be raised again to 10,000, 1,000, and 500 posts per day, respectively, although he did not specify when the changes would take effect.
Twitter Outage and Potential Connection: Musk’s announcement coincided with a widespread Twitter outage experienced by thousands of users. People attempting to access or post content on the platform encountered error messages such as “Rate limit exceeded” or “Cannot retrieve tweets.” While the exact connection between the outage and the new limited-reading policy is unclear, it has raised questions about the platform’s overall stability and functionality.
Twitter’s Response and Recent Changes: In response to the outage, Twitter provided an automated response to media inquiries. It remains uncertain if the outage is directly related to the limited-reading policy. Additionally, Twitter recently restricted access to content for users without an account. Previously, public profiles and tweets were accessible even without signing in, but now users are immediately prompted to log in to view content.
Twitter’s Previous Technical Difficulties: This is not the first time Twitter has faced technical difficulties in recent months. In February, users encountered issues posting on the platform for approximately 90 minutes due to exceeding the daily tweet limit. In March, users experienced temporary difficulties clicking on links and loading images. These incidents, along with reports of data center closures and layoffs, have raised concerns about the platform’s stability and prompted Musk’s claims regarding the financial health of the company.
Elon Musk’s announcement regarding temporary limitations on Twitter post views aims to address concerns related to data scraping and system manipulation. The platform’s recent outage and technical difficulties have further highlighted the challenges faced by Twitter in maintaining stability and user satisfaction. While the limitations are intended to be temporary, it remains to be seen how Twitter will navigate these issues and ensure a smooth user experience moving forward.
