Twitter restores free API access for emergency alerts, government, and public services

Photo: Jorge Urosa/Pexels

When Twitter opted to shut down its free API, this caused issues for public institutions that rely on this feature to disseminate information on the platform. The social network is restoring this free access to the app's programming framework for verified government and publicly-owned services that use the API for "critical purposes," including emergency notifications, transportation updates, and weather alerts.

The social network wanted to earn money from the use of its API. So, Twitter outlined a three-tier pricing strategy for its API in March. The free access was limited to bots and testers that only needed to write posts. It allowed just 1,500 tweets per month and one app ID, limiting the use for creators who need to make frequent updates. Meanwhile, the basic access costs USD 100 per month with fixed caps on tweets. And businesses need to use the multiple enterprise-level tiers, which could cost tens of thousands of dollars per month.

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Twitter gets rid of 'government-funded' label from news publishers

Twitter has removed the "government-funded" media labels the service attached to news publishers like CBC, BBC, and NPR. They were removed as of Friday morning, coinciding with Twitter's erasure of legacy blue checks. These checks were intended to identify notable people, government bodies, and journalists. But now, Twitter uses it as a "perk" for its Twitter Blue subscription service.

CBC and the other outlets decried the "unfair" use of the label, with the CBC pausing its use of the service. It argued that the designation was undermining its work. According to a spokesperson from CBC, they are reviewing this new development but will leave their Twitter accounts on pause for now. The last tweet it posted on April 18 on Twitter referred users to its other social media accounts.

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CBC halts Twitter use to oppose 'government-funded' label

Screenshot: Toronto Star

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is the latest broadcaster to "pause" its activity on Twitter after the platform labelled it as a "government-funded media." The media outlet rebutted Twitter's use of the label that suggests the government could influence editorial output. It wanted to emphasize that reporting is "impartial and independent." Following its announcement Twitter CEO Elon Musk changed the designation to "69% government-funded media."

It's unclear if CBC is in talks with Twitter to change the label. The UK's British Broadcasting Corporation succeeded in having Twitter change its label to "publicly-funded" soon after it quickly organized an interview with Musk.

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Substack founders respond to Twitter restrictions, criticizes rules that 'change on a whim'

Is this Twitter-like Notes feature on Substack the reason for its restrictions on the social media site? (Image; Substack)

Substack's founders have criticized Twitter's new restrictions that prevent promoting tweets with links from its publishing platform. According to founders Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi, this move reminds us why writers need a platform that "puts them in charge, that rewards great work with money, and that protects the free press and free speech." They added that writers' livelihoods "should not be tied to platforms where they don’t own their relationship with their audience, and where the rules can change on a whim."

Twitter users have noticed that they couldn't like, reply to, or retweet some tweets that had Substack links in them. The social media platform hasn't said anything about the change, but as The Verge pointed out, it comes at a time when Substack introduced a Twitter-esque feature called Notes. And this isn't the first time under Elon Musk's Twitter that it banned all links to competitors like Instagram and Mastodon. That change has been reversed since.

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