Twitter is set to introduce a new initiative that will compensate verified content creators for featuring ads in their replies, according to Elon Musk, the owner of the company. Musk announced on Friday that the first payment block for this program is expected to be around $5 million (approximately Rs. 41 crores). However, it is important to note that only verified users will be eligible for this opportunity, and ads served to verified individuals will be taken into account.
Ever since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October of last year, the platform has encountered challenges in retaining advertisers. Concerns arose among advertisers regarding the placement of their ads following significant layoffs at the company. As a result, the upcoming appointment of Linda Yaccarino, an advertising expert from NBCUniversal, as Twitter’s new CEO is highly anticipated. In March, Musk stated that the messaging service generates approximately 5 or 6 cents per hour of user attention and expressed the potential to increase this amount to 15 cents or more through more relevant and timely advertisements.
Additionally, Twitter, along with Meta Platforms’ Instagram, Alphabet’s YouTube, and TikTok, may face regulatory action due to a complaint filed by the European consumer group BEUC with the European Commission and consumer authorities. The complaint alleges that these online platforms facilitate the misleading promotion of cryptocurrency assets. The concerns over consumer protection in relation to crypto assets like Bitcoin and ether have been further heightened by the lawsuits against crypto platforms Coinbase and Binance by US regulators, as well as the collapse of FTX last year.
In response to these issues, the European Union recently implemented the world’s first comprehensive regulations for crypto asset control (MiCa). BEUC’s complaint, submitted on Thursday, argues that the proliferation of deceptive crypto asset advertisements on social media platforms constitutes an unfair commercial practice. Such practices expose consumers to significant financial risks, including the potential loss of substantial sums of money.