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New Twitter regime has its first good idea for slowing down $8 verification abuse

While Twitter is going through an elongated period of growing pains, the new regime – or at least someone with access to the Twitter Blue FAQ – is brainstorming ways to prevent paid verification abuse.

As spotted by The Verge, Twitter has added a new restriction to the relaunch of its Blue subscription service returning later month. As of this hour at least, Twitter plans to implement a 90-day waiting period before newly created accounts can subscribe to paid verification.

“Newly created Twitter accounts will not be able to subscribe to Twitter Blue for 90 days,” its About Twitter Blue page reads. “We may also impose waiting periods for new accounts in the future in our discretion without notice.”

In theory, this restriction will limit people from creating new accounts just for pretending to be someone else. Creating an account for $8 verification abuse three months before you plan to abuse $8 verification is a bigger commitment than doing it on a whim.

The 90-day limitation also punts the problem of people making accounts for instant verification abuse to March 2023, which should reduce at least some of the $8 verification abuse when Twitter Blue launches this time around. What it doesn’t do is prevent accounts that already exist from purchasing verification and pretending to be someone else.

It is promising, however, that Elon Musk has taken a chill pill and decided to put more consideration into $8 verification. That doesn’t guarantee that the new new Twitter Blue will include identity verification as soon as Twitter Blue returns, but maybe the strategy of repairing the car while it’s flying down the freeway is taking a back seat.

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Avatar for Zac Hall Zac Hall

Zac covers Apple news, hosts the 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcast, and created SpaceExplored.com.

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