X (formerly Twitter) has confirmed plans to charge new users for its social media service. In an effort to combat ongoing bot spam and fake accounts, the new subscription, literally called “Not a Bot”, is currently being tested in New Zealand and the Philippines.
The subscription, initially reported by Fortune, requires new users to pay $1 per year in order to be allowed to post. It will also require these new users to verify their phone numbers and pay the $1 fee if they wish to use major features of the platform including likes, tweets, retweets, and bookmarks. Those who do not pay will be restricted to using X in a “read-only” mode.
For the moment, at least, the company said that the fees will not apply to existing users, because “it’s not a profit driver.”
Still, the initial test fuels speculation that X will soon plan to charge all users, regardless of the ones already supporting the platform via X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue).