X may charge new users a “small annual fee”

X might introduce a policy that would force new users to pay up if they want to like, comment, or bookmark posts.

According to X’s owner, Elon Musk, introducing a fee could help combat a tsunami of bots who no longer find it troubling to pass through the "are you a bot" verification.

Musk commented on the matter after X Daily News, the platform’s new aggregator, shared the information.

The “small payment” policy seems to emulate one enacted in New Zealand and the Philippines, where it has already been enforced as a way to cope with spam and bots.

The update would only affect those new to X. When a user signs up, they can pay "a small annual fee" or, as later confirmed by Musk, wait three months to use the platform as usual.

The policy also states that new members can still follow other accounts and browse X for free.

While a number of social media network users might not be convinced that the new update will help in the battle with bots, Musk shared his certainty that "the onslaught of fake accounts also uses up the available namespace, so many good handles are taken as a result."

The latest policy implemented in New Zealand and the Philippines, charging members $1, has not yet been enforced in other countries.

Musk has discussed introducing small payments before. Last September, X’s chief said that the platform is moving towards a payment model where all users would be charged a “small amount.”

Musk shared the idea in a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Netanyahu confronted Musk about the need to combat legions of bots posting antisemitic content, a measurable problem on former Twitter lately.