Too expensive? Microsoft no longer supports Twitter accounts for advertising

The software giant gave no reason for the move. However, it comes shortly before a change in Twitter’s interface access pricing model goes into effect. Business customers would have to pay a minimum of $ 42,000 per month for this. That was already too expensive for many smaller developers.

For example, without access to Twitter interfaces, third-party software cannot publish tweets on the platform. The Microsoft service allows users to write and publish posts and see how popular they have been. The features work as before on Facebook, Instagram and the career network LinkedIn.

Twitter owner Elon Musk then claimed that Microsoft had “illegally” accessed data from the online software training service. “Time for a lawsuit,” he added. The tech billionaire did not specify the accusation. Microsoft signed a billion-dollar pact with the start-up OpenAI, which developed the popular chatbot ChatGPT, among other things.

Historically, most of Twitter’s revenue has come from advertising. After the Musk acquisition, there was a churn of advertisers. He now hopes more for subscription revenue from users and companies.

Verification checkmark only for paying customers

Part of the plan for this is that the verification symbol with a white check mark on a blue background, which was previously given free to high-profile users, should only be available to paying subscription customers. Twitter confirmed on Wednesday that previously given free ticks must be removed on Thursday. Musk had previously announced this for April 1.

The old taps actually verified the identity of the person behind the account. With the new model, this only applies to companies that would also have to pay significantly more money for their golden tick: 950 euros per month instead of 9.52 euros for individual users. (sda/dpa)