If a Twitter user wants to keep their verification, they’ll have to pay up as one of the first moves by Elon Musk as the owner of the social media company is to improve its paid feature, Twitter Blue.
The Verge reported on Sunday that Musk and the outlet are currently planning to charge $19.99 for the new Twitter Blue subscription. Under the existing project, verified users would have 90 days to subscribe or lose their blue checkmark.
Additionally, Twitter staffers working on the project were informed on Sunday that they must meet a deadline of Nov. 7 to launch the feature that will change the verification process, or they will be fired.
“The whole verification process is being revamped right now,” Musk tweeted on Sunday. A Twitter spokesperson didn’t reply to a request for comment by The Verge.
With the assistance of Tesla engineers that Musk has brought into Twitter as consultants, he’s also preparing mass layoffs focusing on middle managers and engineers who haven’t recently contributed to the code base.
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
