Elon Musk has introduced tweet reading limits for millions of users after his platform experienced a crash on Saturday morning. In response to the incident, Musk humorously stated that the
change would allow obsessed users to "touch grass again," while Twitter's reduced staff numbers aim to tackle the "extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation" carried out by AI firms.
Approximately five hours after the platform crash, Musk announced the new tweet limits. New unverified accounts will only be able to view 300 tweets per day, while existing unverified accounts will have access to 600 posts daily. Twitter Blue subscribers, on the other hand, will be able to see 6000 posts each day.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clarified, leading to speculation that server issues may have been responsible, especially as it occurred less than a day after Musk boasted about record usage on the platform. Just 15 hours before the malfunction, Musk tweeted about the platform hitting an all-time high in user-seconds.
Some users satirically celebrated Musk's decision to limit tweet access, joking that they were now "free" from the addictive app and planning to meet at the park. In response, Musk playfully remarked that people would now have the opportunity to "touch grass again" after being temporarily unable to access the platform.
During the crash, users reported difficulties loading tweets, with many only able to see posts from the previous Friday evening. Users received error messages stating that their "rate limit" was exceeded or that the site was unable to retrieve tweets. This latest glitch added to a series of mass outages that have occurred during Musk's tenure as CEO, leading to criticism of his management of the platform.
According to Down Detector, an online usage tracker, Twitter experienced a significant surge in outages around 8 am Eastern Time on Saturday. Users flooded the tracker site with complaints about the frustrating glitch, with some blaming Musk for the issue. Nearly half of those reporting problems mentioned issues with the mobile version, while 39% were related to the app and 18% to the feed.
This is the third time this year that Twitter has faced outages. In March, links and images failed to load for millions of users, and in February, users were unable to tweet, follow accounts, or access direct messages.
Prior to the crash, Musk acknowledged unexpected problems on Friday due to the platform's record usage, leading him to take "drastic and immediate" action. Users were temporarily restricted from accessing tweets without signing in, as AI firms were engaging in "extreme levels" of data scraping. Musk reiterated his push for user authentication, stating that social media platforms allowing unauthenticated access would become overrun by bots once they gained relevance.
The platform has experienced turbulence following Musk's $44 billion takeover last year. His controversial style raised concerns among shareholders about his long-term future as the platform's leader, prompting Musk to step down as CEO and appoint media executive Linda Yaccarino to the position in May. Musk faced scrutiny for decisions made prior to Yaccarino's hiring, including the removal of blue-check authentication for non-Twitter Blue subscribers. Additionally, he downsized the workforce as part of his efforts to streamline operations and improve site efficiency. Photo by JD Lasica from Pleasanton, CA, US, Wikimedia commons.