Ever since Elon Musk took control of Twitter, the social media giant has been on a rollercoaster ride of changes and new features aimed at paying off Musk’s $44 billion investment, including the shutting down of the free access to its API starting February 9. However, just days before the deadline, CEO Musk made a surprising announcement via Twitter, stating that bots will still have access to the light, write-only API as long as they produce “good content.”
It is important to note that this change is only a slight adjustment to Twitter’s move to lock its API. This means that app developers who rely on third-party Twitter clients would still have to pay a fee, ranging from $99 to $1,899 per month, to use what was previously a free tool. The paid version of Twitter’s API access will also include additional features and broader access to the interface for various purposes.
Responding to feedback, Twitter will enable a light, write-only API for bots providing good content that is free
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2023
Dissatisfaction amongst community and developers
This move has sparked a heated debate among the Twitter community. As some bots are purely for entertainment, while others provide useful functions such as reminders, screenshots, and organized threads. The high fee for basic functionality has also raised concerns among developers.
In response to the news, Daniel, the maker of the popular Twitter bot @MakeItAQuote, told BuzzFeed in an interview, “It’s a step in the wrong direction, as most of the API usage brings a lot of value to the platform,” he said. “And the fact that even myself, operating one of the biggest bots on the platform, has to consider shutting it down is very concerning. There are a lot of awesome, less popular bots. I don’t think any of them can be sustainable.”
Despite the initial concerns, Musk’s tweet brought some relief to the community, as many of these bots which would have shut down due to operational costs, may have a chance to stick around. However, the future of bots on Twitter remains uncertain, as it’s still unclear what “good content” actually means and how it will affect free access to the Twitter API.
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