Twitter: Restricts Non-Logged-In Users from Viewing Tweets

Tweet did a big change. According to various reports, the Twitter platform has now decided to block non-logged-in users from viewing any tweets, in an expanded effort to stop data scrapers from accessing tweet data. Tweet embeds appear to be still working for now, and tweets are still appearing in Google Search, so there are still ways to see some tweets outside of the app, even without an active account.

NEWS: Twitter's web version no longer allows users to browse without logging in. All urls redirect to the signup page.

This is believed to be a measure to make it harder for scrapers to take Twitter's data, like ChatGPT's web browsing plugin has been doing. pic.twitter.com/DbfuAWwS4p

— T(w)itter Daily News  (@TitterDaily) June 30, 2023

Thus, it seems that Twitter’s taking more measures to force people to log in, while also limiting unauthorized third-party access. As noted by T(w)itter Daily News, there are indications that OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has been accessing public tweet data, after Twitter cut it off from its API, due to the company’s use of tweets to fuel its generative AI models.

Elon Musk the owner of Twitter was an early investor in OpenAI, but after a falling out with its founders, he opted to step back from the project and the company since then. OpenAI has developed a range of generative AI tools, which are now bringing in billions in business deals. In addition, Elon Musk has repeatedly complained that his initial investment in what was a non-profit has helped OpenAI establish its business, with no return for him.

OpenAI was created as an open source (which is why I named it “Open” AI), non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google, but now it has become a closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft.

Not what I intended at all.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2023

Also, Elon Musk has criticized ChatGPT as being ‘too woke’, which appears to have sparked his interest in building his own ‘TruthGPT’ generative AI model, and this seems an adversarial relationship with OpenAI that influences Twitter’s decisions on data access.

Further, Twitter already upped the price for its API access points, and in response to Elon’s opinion that OpenAI wasn’t paying enough, and now blocks non-logged-in users from searching tweets, it’s another measure to restrict tweet data. Also, Twitter seems to be taking an even more drastic step. And while it only applies to web users right now, Twitter will reportedly extend this new restriction to mobile users as well.

Temporary emergency measure. We were getting data pillaged so much that it was degrading service for normal users!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 30, 2023

According to Twitter’s own EU disclosure 40% of its users only in Europe, access the platform as ‘logged out guests’. Twitter now is counting these as users, which could have a big impact on overall platform usage. On Twitter’s EU disclosure site, it says that: “Twitter makes most of its content accessible to non-authenticated users. Persons without a Twitter account, or logged-out Twitter users, are able to access most content on Twitter.com without being required to log in. This accessibility is fundamental to Twitter’s mission to serve the public conversation and help ensure the freedom of expression and access to information of its users.”

This is EU-only data, but if that’s at all indicative of how people in other regions access tweets, is a big shift and it can reduce Twitter’s role in the broader news eco-system. Further, it could also force more people to sign up, and maybe that’s what Elon and Co. are banking on, that people who are used to accessing tweets without logging in will now be forced to sign-up. For the platform and for its users it’s a big shift.

Source: Social Media Today

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