Meta Threads Pulls a Twitter, Hamstrings Platform With Rate Limits

In Brief

• The fight against spam bots intensifies as it spills over from Twitter to Meta's Threads.
• Elon Musk calls Threads a "Copy [cat emoji]" after Mosseri announces tighter rate limits.
• Threads gains popularity as it competes with Twitter, but its success attracts regulatory scrutiny.
  
  

The battle against spam bots intensified during the Twitter takeover, and it has now spilled over to the Meta platform with Threads. Instagram Head Adam Mosseri took to Threads to introduce rate limits to tackle the spam bot problem.

Mosseri stated, “Spam attacks have picked up so we’re going to have to get tighter on things like rate limits…”

Musk Calls Out ‘Copy Cat’
Mosseri acknowledged the spam bot problem and announced tighter rate limits. However, he also noted that these limits could unintentionally restrict genuine users, leading to false positives. Therefore, the Instagram chief encouraged users to report any instances where legitimate accounts get caught in the protections.

Users agreed that the spam bots on Threads have been particularly noticeable in promoting gambling and cryptocurrency sites. Rate limits, which were initially introduced on Twitter, were met with Elon Musk’s response. He called Threads a “Copy [cat emoji].” The reaction sparked a wave of memes comparing the two platforms.

Twitter’s rate limits allow verified accounts to read 6,000 posts daily. Unverified and newly established accounts are restricted to reading 600 and 300 tweets per day, respectively. However, rate limits also put off several Twitter users.

The move faced criticism, especially due to its adverse effects on TwitterDeck and monitoring services that review several tweets daily. In turn, users were pushed to explore decentralized alternatives.

During this period, Threads gained traction, becoming increasingly popular while Twitter struggled.

The Popularity of Threads and New Regulatory Probe
Threads has seen significant adoption, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announcing that ‘tens of millions of people’ are returning to the conversation app. The platform witnessed an impressive 100 million sign-ups just five days after its launch, though daily active user metrics have since declined heavily.

Nevertheless, recent reports suggest a decline in engagement since the initial surge.

Meanwhile, CNBC reported that CEO Mark Zuckerberg would provide documents about content moderation on Threads to the Biden administration in response to an ongoing investigation. This development indicates that Threads could potentially bring added scrutiny to Meta in Washington.

Lawmakers noted that Threads’ marketability as a direct competitor to Twitter has raised concerns.

Meanwhile, with rate limits to fight spam bots, Threads strives to establish itself as a serious competitor to Twitter.

In other news, former Twitter chief Jack Dorsey continues to venture further into the Bitcoin world. Block, formerly known as Square, is developing Bitkey, with a launch expected later this year.

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