Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, Twitter, and Tesla, announced temporary tweet-viewing rate limits on Twitter to address concerns over data scraping
Summary: Data Scraping & Twitter Limits
Elon Musk has implemented temporary tweet-viewing rate limits on Twitter to combat data scraping and system manipulation. These limits have generated skepticism among users, with questions raised about their rationale and duration. The restrictions come at a time when Twitter is negotiating with Google over cloud storage services. The exact cause for the rate limits has not been confirmed, but concerns about data scraping and its impact on user experience have been cited.
To address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation, we’ve applied the following temporary limits:
– Verified accounts are limited to reading 6000 posts/day
– Unverified accounts to 600 posts/day
– New unverified accounts to 300/day— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 1, 2023
Details
These limits restrict the number of tweets users can view and are aimed at combating the problem of “extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation”. Twitter’s former head of trust and safety criticized the rationale behind these limits, stating that it “doesn’t pass the sniff test”.
The decision to impose rate limits comes amid negotiations for a contract with Google Cloud storage. The limited functionality on Twitter sparked speculation among users about the platform’s failure to pay for Google cloud services. However, the exact cause for the restrictions has not been verified.
Initially, the tweet-viewing limits were set at 6,000 posts per day for verified accounts, 600 posts per day for existing unverified accounts, and 300 posts per day for new unverified accounts
Elon Musk continued to adjust these limits throughout the day, gradually increasing the number of posts users could view. By the end of the day, the limits were raised to 10,000, 1,000, and 500 posts per day for verified, unverified, and new unverified accounts, respectively.
When users reached the new viewing limits, no new content would be displayed, and notifications would appear indicating the rate limit had been exceeded. This sporadic change caused unease among users, questioning the reasoning behind the rate limits and their temporary nature.
Elon Musk’s concerns about data scraping stem from the belief that organizations are aggressively scraping Twitter’s data, impacting the user experience. He has been vocal about his dislike for such practices and their effect on the platform.
Criticisms from Users
However, critics, including Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, have expressed skepticism about the sudden impact of data scraping on Twitter’s performance.
The rate limits imposed by Musk are part of Twitter’s efforts to address data scraping and system manipulation. The company had previously announced a requirement for users to log into an account to view tweets as a temporary emergency measure.
These changes have caused frustration among some users, who feel that their online activities are being severely restricted.
The limited functionality on Twitter coincides with ongoing negotiations between Twitter and Google over cloud storage services. Twitter has resumed making payments on its existing contract with Google, but discussions about the future of the partnership continue.
