The new regulatory policy is turning Twitter-X into a paid adult content site similar to OnlyFans, a move that shows that revenue pressure as well as the obsession with diversifying revenue sources is weighing heavily on Elon Musk.
Last weekend, billionaire Elon Musk’s famous social network Twitter-X officially updated new terms, thereby allowing users to post adult content (Adult Content) on this platform.
Previously, Twitter-X did not have clear rules that allowed or prohibited users from posting adult content, leaving it in a gray area that could be posted or removed at the discretion of the administrator.
However, with this new regulation, Twitter-X has officially allowed users to post content “Not suitable for public viewing” (NSFW-Not Suitable For Work).
“We believe in the autonomy of adult users to participate and create content that reflects their own beliefs, desires and experiences, including content related to đâŻđuality.” , Twitter-X’s updated instructions state.
Any adult content posted on Twitter-X will have to be labeled on the posting account to ensure the platform’s filters warn viewers. This principle applies to adult content created by artificial intelligence (AI).
Revenue pressure
Although Twitter-X never explicitly allowed the posting of adult content before updating its policy late last week, since the launch of the Twitter Blue premium service, there has been an increase in such content. appeared on this platform.
Twitter-X’s paid Twitter Blue service has stimulated many adult actors and prostitutes to sign up for post-paid content, similar to what adult site OnlyFans is doing.
Now with the formalization of regulations, Twitter-X seems to be following the same path as this British adult content site by luring users to pay for products that are not suitable for public viewing. add.
Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter-X in October 2022, this Tesla billionaire has continuously affirmed that the company needs to pursue revenue to diversify its income sources.
Elon Musk’s firing of a series of former employees and his controversial statements have caused many businesses to withdraw advertising from Twitter-X. Therefore, the Tesla boss is trying to find revenue from paid content with the Twitter Blue service, now called X Premium.
According to Fortune, X Premium is said to be the first paid content service version in Twitter-X history that is friendly to adult content, which was not supported by this platform before being purchased by Elon Musk. again.
In fact, this plan to develop paid adult content has been promoted by Elon Musk since 2022 but failed because the censorship team was not strong enough to screen the results to remove related adult content. to đ€đ©đȘđđ„ren or otherwise illegal.
However, under revenue pressure and the $1 billion in interest payments each year, along with many businesses refusing to advertise, Twitter-X was forced to continue carrying out this plan.
Elon Musk’s obsession
Since before acquiring Twitter-X, billionaire Elon Musk has had great ambitions in diversifying the revenue sources of this social network.
In a presentation to investors, this Tesla boss proposed reducing Twitter-X’s advertising business from 90% to only 45% by 2028 to increase revenue from paid content. costs up to 10 billion USD per year.
Please be reminded that Twitter-X’s revenue in the last year before Elon Musk bought it and went private only reached 5 billion USD.
Since then, Twitter-X has rarely published financial reports as well as progress in completing the goals set by Elon Musk. But some early reports suggest the platform has struggled to retain both users and advertisers.
In October 2023, one year since Elon Musk acquired Twitter-X, the number of monthly active users of this social network decreased by 15% while advertising revenue decreased by 54%.
Some recent analysis shows that users are still leaving the platform as the number of active users decreased by 42% in February 2024 compared to the same period last year.
Analysts say that Elon Musk’s statements and actions have disappointed users because they do not match the commitments made before the billionaire acquired Twitter-X.
In addition, having too many bots automatically posting adult content or commenting spam on posts also makes the user experience worse. Even automatic commenting bots have become a prominent feature of Twitter-X when the content management team is not enough to review and clean them all.
However, according to Fortune, now these automated bots will probably be replaced by a team of adult content creators flooding Twitter-X to earn the same income as on OnlyFans.
