Twitter, the popular social media platform owned by Elon Musk, has imposed restrictions on the number of tweets users can read as the service experiences an extended outage, hindering users’ ability to stay updated with new posts.
In a tweet, Musk outlined the revised usage quotas. Verified account holders will be able to view a maximum of 6,000 posts per day, while unverified users face a significantly reduced limit of 600 posts. Newly registered, unverified users have even tighter restrictions, with an allowance of just 300 posts per day. However, Musk later increased the limits to 10,000, 1,000, and 500, respectively.
Musk attributed these constraints to Twitter’s battle against “extreme levels of data scraping” from numerous organizations and instances of system manipulation. He did not disclose the identity of the entities involved in scraping Twitter’s data or provide further details on the system manipulation claim.
The tech billionaire has previously expressed concerns about data scraping on Twitter and hinted at taking action against those engaging in such practices. Musk even expressed outrage over Microsoft’s alleged “illegal” use of Twitter’s data, suggesting that legal action might be pursued.
However, according to a developer, the main issue plaguing Twitter this week appears to be a bug within its web app, causing it to send requests to Twitter in an infinite loop.
The tweet limitations come after tens of thousands of users reported on Saturday that their Twitter feeds were not updating with new tweets. Instead, they encountered the “rate limit exceeded” error message.
This is not the first technical hiccup Twitter has faced in recent months, and the platform has resorted to unorthodox solutions to mitigate these challenges. Earlier this week, Twitter began restricting access to its platform for individuals who were not logged into an account.
The current outage coincides with reports that social media giant Meta is preparing to launch its own Twitter competitor, adding further intrigue to the ever-evolving social media landscape.
As Twitter grapples with these issues, users await a resolution that will restore the platform’s normal functionality and ensure a seamless experience for millions of users worldwide.
