According to a recent announcement, the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has started charging new members in New Zealand and the Philippines to access basic functions like message publishing.

Elon Musk, a billionaire, has controlled X since last year. In a statement, the company said that its new subscription mechanism will "bolster" current attempts to lessen spam and "manipulation of our platform and bot activity."

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According to the firm, anyone who chooses not to pay the little price will only be able to access a "read-only" version of the site, which will only allow users to read posts, watch videos, and follow accounts.

It said, "This will assess a potentially effective technique to aid us in thwarting bots and spammers on X, while balancing platform accessibility with the minimal price amount.Current users in these nations are unaffected.

Since buying Twitter for $44 billion last year, Musk has made a number of contentious changes to the social media company's administration and product.

In an effort to combat bogus accounts, he recently floated the notion of imposing a small use tax on all users, sparking harsh condemnation from people all around the world.