Under Elon Musk, Twitter May Charge Slight Fee For Govt, Commercial Users

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who had last month struck a deal for purchasing Twitter for around $44 billion, has floated a new idea to reduce the social networking site's reliance on corporate firms for revenue.

Musk has proposed that while the Twitter would always be free for "casual users", government and business users on the site might be charged for availing the services of the platform.

"Twitter will be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users," Musk tweeted on Wednesday (3 May).

Earlier in the day, while posting a CNN report over "advocacy groups" pressuring "brands" to force Twitter to uphold content moderation policies under Musk, the Tesla CEO called for a probe into the funding of these groups that wanted control over how common users access information on the platform.

In a letter sent to brands Tuesday ahead of the 2022 NewFronts digital advertising conference, more than two dozen civil society groups said marketers should secure commitments from Twitter to retain its most critical policies, including on civic integrity and hateful conduct, and threaten to withdraw funding if Twitter does not comply, CNN reported.

"As top advertisers on Twitter, your brand risks association with a platform amplifying hate, extremism, health misinformation, and conspiracy theorists," the letter said, adding, "Your ad dollars can either fund Musk's vanity project or hold him to account."

Responding to the call by 'advocacy groups', Musk tweeted, "Who funds these organizations that want to control your access to information? Let’s investigate …".

Musk had last month struck a deal with Twitter's board for acquiring 100 per cent of the company for $54.20 a share, valuing the company at around $44 billion.