Does “Safety” require a Monthly Payment?

Is there a flaw in the User Verification argument?

Paying keeps others safe from you?

Elon Musk has done a lot for Twitter X since his takeover. Removing the Bots and the Evil people who target kids has been an achievement Zuckerberg failed to manage.

In fact Facebook’s algorithm famously connected “child abusing” adults with kids, for which he later apologised. His efforts to prevent abuse resulted in exacerbating the issue further. But that’s for another story.

One factor to Twitter’s Bot Fighting success has been through it’s blue tick verification which requires payment. Because payments verify you with the bank you are then known to be a real user. While this makes a significant difference to online safety and user accountability it does raise another question.

Once you’re verified why continue to pay?

It’s not just Twitter who use this method. Meta have also introduced the same system for Facebook and Instagram. But how many real users pay?

When you can use a service for free why wouldn’t you?

However these Social Media sites will then prevent you from having the same level of exposure. You are suspected of being a potential bot until proven otherwise. That proof is partly in paying for the…