Nov. 7 (UPI) — Elon Musk‘s plan to charge nearly $8 monthly for a blue verification check mark on Twitter profiles is taking shape with the Apple App Store confirming the change to Twitter Blue.
The once highly sought after blue checkmark will cost $7.99 per month and will soon be available to users in the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. More countries will eventually be included, BBC reports.
“Power to the people: Your account will get a blue checkmark, just like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow,” the description in the app store reads, echoing an earlier tweet from Musk. It also says less advertisements and new posting options will soon become available.
The move comes after Musk tweeted about the company losing revenue as advertisers flee the platform. Musk purchased the company for an estimated $44 billion last month, borrowing a large sum to do so.
Musk, Twitter’s new owner and sole director, floated the idea of a $19.99 per month charge for verification a week ago. After an exchange with horror author Stephen King, he reduced the ask to $7.99. The rollout of the new plan will be delayed until after the midterm elections Tuesday at the least, according to CNN.
Verification being open to anyone who pays a subscription opens the door to imitators and bot accounts appearing valid. The site is used to spread authentic information from government agencies, companies, politicians and news sites.
Meanwhile, Twitter has undertaken massive layoffs with an estimated 7,500 people losing their jobs. Some of the largest job cuts have been among content moderators; a concerning sign that disinformation and hate speech could explode across the site.
The United Nations has also weighed in over concerns over human rights. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk published an open letter to Musk on Saturday.
“Twitter is part of a global revolution that has transformed how we communicate. But I write with concern and apprehension about our digital public square and Twitter’s role in it,” Türk wrote. “Like all companies, Twitter needs to understand the harms associated with its platform and take steps to address them. Respect for our shared human rights should set the guardrails for the platform’s use and evolution.”
Türk went on to urge Musk to ensure human rights are central to the management of the social media platform.
Advertisers are also taking pause over Musk’s overall role with the company, fearing what Twitter could become. He has touted his intentions to hold free speech as a tenet of the site, though his definition of the term has been brought into question on several occasions. Last spring, just weeks after Musk’s initial push to purchase Twitter, he said he would reinstate former President Donald Trump‘s account, overturning his permanent ban.
Trump’s ban came after he shared disinformation about the 2020 Presidential Election and did not encourage rioters to leave the Capitol until hours after the start of the attack on Jan. 6. Last week, Musk seemingly walked back the idea of reinstating banned accounts.
