Twitter Restricts Non-Logged In Users from Viewing Tweets

This might be a giant change.

Based on various reports, Twitter is now blocking non-logged-in users from viewing any tweets, in an expanded effort to stop data scrapers from accessing tweet data.

Tweet embeds look like still working for now, and tweets are still appearing in Google Search, so there are still ways to see some tweets outside of the app, even without an energetic account. But plainly Twitter’s taking more measures to force people to log in, while also limiting unauthorized third-party access.   

Which might be specifically focused on one company specifically.

As noted by T(w)itter Day by day News, there are indications that OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has been accessing public tweet data, after Twitter cut it off from its API, because of the corporate’s use of tweets to fuel its generative AI models.

Twitter owner Elon Musk was an early investor in OpenAI, but after a falling out with its founders, he opted to step back from the project, and the corporate more broadly, and since then, OpenAI has developed a variety of generative AI tools, which at the moment are bringing in billions in business deals.

Musk has repeatedly complained that his initial investment in what was a non-profit has helped OpenAI establish its business, with no return for him.

Musk has also criticized ChatGPT as being ‘too woke’, which appears to have sparked his interest in constructing his own ‘TruthGPT’ generative AI model – and it’s this now adversarial relationship with OpenAI that appears to be influencing Twitter’s decisions on data access.

Twitter has already upped the value of its API access points, in response to Musk’s belief that OpenAI wasn’t paying enough, while it also now blocks non-logged-in users from searching tweets, one other measure to limit tweet data.

Now, Twitter appears to be taking a fair more drastic step. And while it only applies to web users without delay, Twitter will reportedly extend this latest restriction to mobile users as well in the approaching weeks.

So why is obstructing non-logged-in users from viewing tweets such a giant deal?

Because in line with Twitter’s own EU disclosure, around 40% of users, in Europe a minimum of, access the platform as ‘logged out guests’.

That signifies that Twitter is counting these as users, which could have a big effect on overall platform usage.

Also interesting to notice this description on Twitter’s EU disclosure site:

“Twitter makes most of its content accessible to non-authenticated users. Individuals and not using a Twitter account, or logged-out Twitter users, are in a position to access most content on Twitter.com without being required to log in. This accessibility is prime to Twitter’s mission to serve the general public conversation and help make sure the freedom of expression and access to information of its users.”

Perhaps not so fundamental anymore.

After all, that is EU only data, but when that’s in any respect indicative of how people in other regions also access tweets, that might spark a giant shift, which could reduce Twitter’s role within the broader news eco-system.

At the identical time, it could also force more people to enroll, and perhaps that’s what Elon and Co. are banking on, that people who find themselves used to accessing tweets without logging in will now be so reliant on that info that they’ll sign-up en-masse, bringing in a heap more monetizable each day actives for its business.

Either way, it’s a giant move, which could have broader impacts.

UPDATE: In response to criticism of the move, Elon Musk now says that is a brief measure.

I’m unsure that it was temporary before Twitter realized the potential impact.