CUPERTINO: Twitter has introduced a new requirement, stating that users must have an account on the social media platform to view tweets. Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, referred to this move as a “temporary emergency measure” in a tweet on Friday.
From now on, individuals attempting to access content on Twitter will be prompted to either sign up for an account or log into an existing one in order to view their desired tweets. The decision to implement this requirement was driven by concerns over data security and privacy, as Musk highlighted the significant amount of data pilferage experienced by the platform, which was negatively impacting the user experience.
NEWS: Twitter's web version no longer allows users to browse without logging in. All urls redirect to the signup page.
This is believed to be a measure to make it harder for scrapers to take Twitter's data, like ChatGPT's web browsing plugin has been doing. pic.twitter.com/DbfuAWwS4p
— X Daily News (@xDaily) June 30, 2023
Twitter’s Data for Training Large Language Models
Musk has previously voiced his disapproval of artificial intelligence firms, including OpenAI and others, utilizing Twitter’s data for training large language models. In an effort to regain advertisers who left the platform during Musk’s ownership and to boost subscription revenue, Twitter has introduced various measures.
These include incorporating verification checkmarks as part of the Twitter Blue program and emphasizing video, creator, and commerce partnerships to diversify the company’s revenue beyond digital advertising.
Furthermore, Twitter has recently begun charging users for accessing its application programming interface (API), which is used by third-party apps and researchers.
