(New York) Twitter on Saturday launched an $8 monthly subscription service that would include a small blue check mark to indicate that the account is that of a trusted person or entity.
Posted at 5:00 p.m.
The company’s new owner, Elon Musk, made the announcement on Tuesday.
In an update to the Twitter app on Apple iOS, the company tells customers they can get the little blue hook “just like the personalities, businesses and politicians” they follow.
The service will be available in English-speaking countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Probably because it will not yet be in France, Twitter’s French page on Apple’s App Store was content to mention on Saturday: “We have made improvements and corrected bugs to make your Twitter experience even better.
The change marks the end of Twitter’s current verification system, which was launched in 2009 to prevent bad guys from hacking into high-profile accounts, like a celebrity’s. To date, Twitter has approximately 423,000 verified accounts, many of which belong to journalists from all over the world.
Experts have raised concerns about the new verification system. The one that did exist wasn’t perfect, but it did help the company’s 238 million subscribers determine whether the account a piece of information came from was genuine or not. The update available for iOS devices does not mention whether the verification is part of the “blue hook”.
The launch comes the day after a massive layoff at Twitter. About half of the 7,500 employees have been laid off, according to Yoel Roth, head of security and integrity.
A Twitter co-founder, Jack Dorsey, accepted responsibility for all of the layoffs on Saturday. He served as the company’s chief executive twice, most recently for a period spanning 2015 to 2021.
“It’s my fault for this situation. I grew the business too quickly. I’m sorry about that,” he tweeted.