VOA科学技术2023--Twitter Puts Daily Limits on Number of Tweets Users Can Read

Twitter Puts Daily Limits on Number of Tweets Users Can Read

Twitter has placed temporary restrictions¹ on the number of tweets, or posts, users can look at each day. The company also established a new rule requiring people to have a Twitter account in order to read tweets on the messaging service.

Company chief Elon Musk² noted³ the recent changes in a series of tweets. He explained the restrictions were an attempt to cut down on "scraping," in which businesses take huge amounts of publicly available data from large online sites.

Musk said the temporary limits aim to fight "extreme levels" of scraping and other data collection that can affect Twitter's system performance.

The Twitter chief announced the changes July first. He said Twitter users who pay for a "verified" account were limited to reading 6,000 tweets per day. Users with unverified accounts were limited to 600 tweets per day, while new unverified accounts could read 300 per day.

A few days earlier, Musk had announced the rule requiring users to have a Twitter account to look at tweets. He described that move as a "temporary emergency measure." Musk said third-party data-collection activity was so severe it was "degrading service for normal users."

In the past, Musk has heavily criticized artificial intelligence (AI) companies for using publicly available information on the Twitter service to collect data for their businesses. Musk even tweeted a promise to "take legal action against those who stole our data & look forward (to) seeing them in court."

After the Twitter policy faced wide criticism online, Musk later announced higher limits. He said verified accounts could read 10,000 tweets and unverified accounts could see 1,000. Users with new unverified accounts can now read 500 tweets daily.

Neither Twitter nor Musk answered requests for comment on the changes from reporters from the Associated Press and Reuters.

Musk is also chief of electric carmaker Tesla and space company SpaceX.

The restrictions are the latest in a series of changes made by Musk since he bought Twitter for $44 billion last year. He also dismissed about 75 percent of the company's workforce⁴ soon after taking control. He said the move was necessary to make Twitter more effective and increase profits.

When first announced, the changes caused up to 7,500 people to report problems using Twitter, the website Downdetector said. That is a relatively⁵ small number considering the messaging service has more than 200 million users worldwide. But the changes did result in the #TwitterDown showing up on social media in some parts of the world.

The higher limit for verified accounts is part of an $8-per-month subscription⁶ service Musk launched earlier this year. Musk also sought to remove bans from some kinds of content that had been restricted on Twitter. He said he was acting⁷ to protect the free speech of users. However, some advertisers reduced their business with Twitter following the policy changes. That meant a loss in earnings⁸ for the social media site.

The latest changes at Twitter came as Facebook owner Meta prepares to launch a new service that appears to be positioned to directly compete with Twitter. That service, called Threads, is expected to begin service on Thursday.

A listing for Threads has appeared on Apple's App Store. The listing describes the service as a "text-based conversation app" that is linked to Meta-owned Instagram. Users of Instagram will be able to keep their user names and follow the same accounts on Threads, the App Store listing suggested. Meta did not answer requests for comment about the new service.

Matt Navarra is a technology industry expert and advisor⁹ to social media companies. He told The Associated Press he thinks the new Meta product is launching at the right time – when many Twitter users are not happy with Musk's continuing changes.

Navarra said Threads presents the chance for Twitter users "to jump to a platform that can give (users) many of the things that they want Twitter to continue to be," but that it no longer is.

Words in This Story

verify – v. to prove that something is true

degrade – v. to damage the quality or condition of something

subscription – n. an agreement you make with a company to get a publication or service regularly and that you usually pay for in advance

conversation – n. the act of speaking to another person

platform – n. a company or service that permits someone to tell a large number of people about ideas or products

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 subscription   

n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方）

参考例句：

• We paid a subscription of 5 pounds yearly.我们按年度缴纳5英镑的订阅费。
• Subscription selling bloomed splendidly.订阅销售量激增。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

9 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。