Twitter will make use of its API payable from next week. That API is the connection for many bots and, therefore, means that some automated accounts will stand at a standstill.
An API stands for Application Programming Interface and is the software access to Twitter. It means that as a developer, you can link your tool to Twitter. Think of accounts like @quokkaeveryhour, who tweet a photo of a quokka (small kangaroo) every hour, without you having to do it manually yourself.
The free access to that API is now disappearing. According to owner Elon Musk, the deletion should prevent abuse. Various bots on Twitter provide for him manipulation on the platform. But that also affects the small-scale and non-commercial bots that do fun things. Researchers or accounts that live-tweet information from sensors are also unlikely to pay for that access. Musk said he would charge $100 a month for API access with identity verification from the person behind the bot.
The plan may also fit in with Musk’s ambition to make Twitter more profitable. Musk already tried to do this by firing more than half of the employees and introducing the paying Twitter Blue. But Musk’s attitude and the re-allowing of previously banned accounts mean that many advertisers have also left and are therefore making less money.
