SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter seeking new revenue streams for a platform that cost him US$44bil is reportedly considering making all users pay a fee to use the service.

Musk had discussed paywalling the company in recent meetings with his advisor David Sacks, tech reporter Casey Newton wrote on the Platformer blog late on Nov 7.

One discussed proposal was to let Twitter be used for free for a limited time and then charge a fee, the report said. Musk, who has been using his own Twitter to communicate for the company since the takeover, has not yet commented on this matter.

So far, Musk had only announced that he would give all customers who subscribe for US$8 a month verified accounts as a bonus.

Until now, Twitter has given blue ticks to celebrities, politicians, journalists and other public figures free of charge after checking their identity.

Musk argues that authentication through payment services and the app platforms of Apple and Google was sufficient, so that Twitter could do without its own identity verification.

Musk had also announced that subscription customers would only see half of the advertising. But this feature could actually lead to Twitter losing money in the US, Platformer wrote, citing insiders. 

This halving of the advertisements lowers the advertising revenue per user in the US by US$6 on average, it said. After deducting the platform fees from Apple and Google, Twitter could earn less from these accounts than before.

A general paywall could cause the advertising reach to collapse further. However Newton commented this measure does not appear imminent, and it’s unclear if Musk is seriously considering charging all Twitter users.

Musk also threatened to crack down on fake accounts and parody accounts, saying that anyone who operates a profile under another person's name and does not mark it as a parody is to be banned without warning.

The announcement came after some users changed their names to pretend to be Elon Musk in criticism of his plans for Twitter.

 - dpa