Twitter Imposes Rate Limits Citing ‘Extreme Levels of Data Scraping’
Tesla CEO and Twitter chief Elon Musk has implemented temporary rate limits on the number of tweets users can read daily to combat excessive data scraping and system manipulation on the platform. Verified Twitter accounts can read up to 6,000 posts per day, while unverified accounts are limited to 600 posts, and new unverified accounts can only read 300 posts per day. Musk later announced that the limits would be increased to 8,000 for verified users, 800 for unverified users, and 400 for new unverified users.
Main Breakdowns:
- Musk introduces temporary rate limits on Twitter
- Verified accounts can read up to 6,000 posts per day
- Unverified accounts limited to 600 posts per day
- New unverified accounts restricted to 300 posts per day
- Musk plans to increase the limits to 8,000, 800, and 400 respectively
Many people criticized Musk for the rate limits, expressing concerns about declining user engagement and interactions. Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO of Lolacoin, suggested that only commenting should be limited, not viewing. The decision to impose the limits was prompted by AI programs scraping tweets, including Chatgpt, which can no longer access tweets due to the rate limits.
Musk Steps on the DARPA Rattlesnake, Says Censorship Expert
Mike Benz, executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online, warned that Musk’s decision to implement rate limits has wide-ranging implications for the science of censorship. AI censorship models rely on massive scraping of Twitter data to build intelligence dossiers and track communities online. Benz explained that these models are used by various government-funded organizations and emphasized the potential danger of constructing a censorship “death star.” While Musk’s actions limit the openness of the internet, they also prevent the refinement and funding of the censorship death star.
Hot Take:
Musk’s implementation of rate limits on Twitter has sparked controversy, with critics concerned about declining user engagement. However, it may also hinder the construction of an AI censorship death star that relies on massive data scraping. While the intentions behind the limits remain unclear, their impact on censorship operations and the openness of the internet cannot be ignored.
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