Confusion at Twitter continues over Elon Musk's tweet limits

Confusion astatine Twitter appears to beryllium continuing aft proprietor Elon Musk introduced limits to the magnitude of posts users tin work successful a day.

The billionaire announced the "temporary measure" to code utmost levels of information scraping connected the site.

Initial limits were rapidly accrued by Mr Musk astatine the weekend.

While galore users reported nary longer seeing limits connected Sunday, immoderate said a "rate bounds exceeded" notification had returned connected Monday.

Mr Musk - who took implicit Twitter successful October 2022 had said antecedently that helium was not blessed astir artificial quality (AI) firms utilizing Twitter's information to bid their ample connection models.

Changes to the level astatine the play saw it enforce an archetypal 600-tweet bounds for unverified Twitter users who are not paying for a subscription to the platform, but Mr Musk said this had accrued to 1,000 connected Saturday evening.

He has not yet provided an update connected whether the limits volition stay successful place.

Responding to a idiosyncratic flagging issues with tract features, Mr Musk said successful a tweet connected Saturday greeting Twitter had imposed the measures arsenic a effect of "EXTREME levels of information scraping".

The process is simply a cardinal method of gathering contented and accusation from web platforms, and involves extracting information from sites, often astatine large scale, to marque it accessible and readable successful section formats, specified arsenic successful a spreadsheet.

"Almost each institution doing AI, from start-ups to immoderate of the biggest corporations connected Earth, was scraping immense amounts of data," Mr Musk added successful his tweet.

"It is alternatively galling to person to bring ample numbers of servers online connected an exigency ground conscionable to facilitate immoderate AI startup's outrageous valuation."

Data idiosyncratic and ex-Twitter employee, Dr Rumman Chowdhury, told the BBC it was unclear if AI organisations had been scraping information from Twitter, but suggested fiscal issues could beryllium down the changes.

"Frankly, I deliberation I'm successful a bulk of radical who judge that it's owed to his deficiency of outgo of his bills... and he's attempting to trim his costs," she said.

An Australian task absorption steadfast has filed a suit against Twitter successful a US tribunal seeking cumulative payments of astir A$1m (£534,000) implicit alleged non-payment of bills for enactment done successful 4 countries, tribunal filings show.

In May, a erstwhile nationalist relations steadfast filed a suit successful a New York tribunal saying Twitter had not paid its bills, portion aboriginal this twelvemonth US-based advisory steadfast Innisfree M&A Inc sued it, seeking astir $1.9m (£1.4m) for what it said were unpaid bills aft it advised Twitter connected its acquisition by Mr Musk.

Since Mr Musk bought Twitter helium has focused connected reducing costs by laying disconnected fractional the workforce and introducing the subscription service, which offers the sought-after "verified" badge for a monthly fee.

For a level that requires engagement, limiting posts seems to spell successful the other direction. It is simply a "very utmost and unprecedented tactic" which is "already failing", said Dr Chowdhury.

Twitter saw advertisers fly amid worries astir Mr Musk's attack to contented moderation rules, affecting its revenue.

When Mr Musk spoke to the BBC successful April, helium said the institution was present "roughly breaking even", claiming astir of its advertisers were returning.

The bounds connected tweets saw immoderate journalists, who usage Twitter to find accusation for unrecorded reporting and verification of stories, confronted with the curbs.

Bel Trew, main planetary analogous for The Independent, tweeted that limits to however galore tweets she could work connected the level had near her astatine a "complete loss" portion reporting connected Sunday.

And a newsman successful the US metropolis of Baltimore was near incapable to presumption tweets from the section constabulary department's Twitter relationship in the aftermath of a shooting that near 2 radical killed and a further 28 injured.

Those receiving "rate bounds exceeded" notifications recovered these applied crossed each accounts - including to accounts which tweet real-time accusation astir emergencies, upwind hazards and earthy disasters.

The BBC reached retired to Twitter for clarification and received an automated connection of a poo emoji.