Twitter scrambles to introduce payment feature amid falling ad revenue: report

Twitter is working to introduce payments to the social media platform and has begun seeking regulatory licenses, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

New boss Elon Musk is pushing Twitter to create new revenue streams as he faces a drop in ad revenue, following his $44 billion (roughly Rs. 3.6 lakh crore) takeover of the company in october.

Development of the payment feature is being led by Esther Crawford, director of product management at Twitter, according to the report, who added that the executive is becoming a key lieutenant to Musk.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Musk previously said the Twitter acquisition would be part of a master plan to create “the everything app,” a service that would offer social networking, peer-to-peer payments and online shopping.

Prior to Musk’s takeover, Twitter in early 2021 considered allowing its users to receive digital tips or payments from their followers.

Meanwhile, Twitter announced last week that users will be able to appeal account suspensions and be assessed against the social media platform’s new reinstatement criteria, starting February 1.

Under the new criteria, which follows billionaire Elon Musk’s purchase of the company in October, Twitter accounts will only be suspended for serious or ongoing and repeated violations of the platform’s policies.

Serious policy violations include engaging in illegal content or activity, inciting or threatening violence or harm, and targeted harassment of other users, among others.

Twitter said that in the future it will take less severe measures, compared to suspending the account, such as limiting the reach of tweets that violate its policies or asking users to delete tweets before continuing to use the account. .

© Thomson Reuters 2023