Elon Musk introduces tweet reading limits after 'manipulation' by AI

Elon Musk introduces tweet reading limits after claiming platform has been ‘manipulated’ by AI firms in wake of huge crash – but jokes it will allow obsessed users to ‘touch grass again’

• Elon Musk has introduced tweet reading limits after his platform crashed 
• Some users will only have access to 300 tweets a day under the new rules
• The billionaire claimed the move was because AI firms ‘manipulated’ the site
• It comes less than a day after Musk boasted the platform hit record usage levels

Elon Musk has introduced tweet reading limits for millions of users after his platform crashed Saturday morning.

The billionaire joked that the change would allow obsessed users to ‘touch grass again’, while Twitter’s significantly reduced staff numbers attempt to combat ‘extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation’ by AI firms. 

Musk announced the limits around five hours after the platform crashed, with new unverified accounts now only able to see 300 tweets a day. 

Unverified accounts that are not new will have access to 600 posts a day, while those subscribed to Twitter Blue will be able to view 6000 posts a day. 

The reason for the crash was not made immediately clear, leading many to speculate the servers may have faulted as it came less than a day after Musk boasted about record high numbers on his site.

‘This platform hit another all-time high in user-seconds last week,’ he tweeted, around 15 hours before the platform malfunctioned. 

Elon Musk’s Twitter platform seemingly crashed on Saturday morning

In response to the site malfunction, Musk announced significant tweet limit access changes

In response to Musk’s tweet limiting decision, one user satirically said users are now ‘free’ from the addictive app, adding: ‘See you guys at the park’.

The billionaire countered by joking that people will now be able to ‘touch grass again’ after finding themselves unable to access the platform. 

During the crash, users complained that the site was failing to load tweets, with many only able to see posts from Friday evening.

The issue told users their ‘rate limit’ was exceeded or the site ‘cannot retrieve tweets’, leading many to slam Musk’s handling of the platform as it is the latest of several mass glitches to occur under his reign. 

According to online usage tracker Down Detector, Twitter saw a huge spike in outages at around 8am Eastern Time Saturday. 

Users flooded the tracker site with complaints about the frustrating glitch, with many blaming Musk for the issue. 

Almost half of those who reported issues with the site said it occurred on the mobile version, while 39 percent were with the app and 18 percent were with the feed. 

It is the third time the company has battled outages this year, after links stopped working and images didn’t load for millions of users in March, while others were even left unable to log in for days. 

Previously, in February it was reported that many Twitter users were unable to tweet, follow accounts or access their direct messages.

The crash comes a day after Musk boasted about record usage numbers on his platform

The issue told users their ‘rate limit’ was exceeded, although it is unclear what exactly caused the issue to occur

Before the crash, the billionaire also revealed the site was undergoing unexpected problems Friday amid its record usage numbers, which led him to take ‘drastic and immediate’ action.

Users were temporarily restricted from accessing tweets without signing in, because AI firms were undertaking ‘extreme levels’ of data scrubbing. 

Musk doubled down on his unpopular push to drive authentication among users as he addressed the issue Friday, tweeting: ‘Any social media companies that allow unauthenticated access will become bot-strewn hellscapes as soon as they become relevant.’ 

It comes after the platform has faced turbulent times in the aftermath of Musk’s blockbuster $44 billion takeover last year.

His bombastic style left some shareholders reportedly concerned about his long-term future running the platform, leading Musk to step down as CEO and appoint media executive Linda Yaccarino to the job in May. 

Musk has come under scrutiny for some decisions he made before he hired Yaccarino, including the removal of blue-check authentication for those not paying $8 a month for Twitter Blue. 

In the months after he acquired the platform, Musk also sacked a large number of his workforce as he looked to cull staff and make the site work more efficiently. 

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