Read limits on Twitter creates surge in popularity of alternatives

WEB DESK: Elon Musk’s recent acquisition Twitter has been grappling with a multitude of challenges of late. The social media platform has reportedly been facing issues related to artificial intelligence (AI) data scraping, leading to the implementation of usage limits for users.

Musk has attributed these restrictions to extreme levels of data scraping by AI companies, which he claims has necessitated the emergency deployment of a large number of servers.

In its latest controversial move, Twitter has imposed daily reading limits on verified, unverified, and new unverified accounts. Despite initial backlash from users, it remains unclear whether the checks were put in place solely due to data scraping or if Twitter’s current capacity to handle increased traffic was also a factor.

Twitter has reportedly been refusing to pay its bills to Google Cloud, a move that could potentially disrupt its moderation services. This refusal is part of a high-stakes gambit as Twitter rushes to transfer its services back to its own data centre infrastructure before its cloud contract renewal date. The refusal to pay is allegedly due to dissatisfaction with the performance of Google Cloud’s infrastructure.

Amidst these challenges, Bluesky – a decentralised social network from Twitter’s former CEO Jack Dorsey, as well as Donald Trump’s Truth Social have both seen a surge in popularity. Bluesky, which allows users to control their own data and communication, has recently announced a beta waitlist for its upcoming app. This surge in interest in other social platforms coincide with Twitter’s ongoing issues, suggesting that users may be looking for alternatives.

As Twitter navigates these challenges, it remains to be seen how these issues will impact the platform’s user experience and its standing in the competitive social media landscape.