Social networks’ latest business model is charging for security
Social networks have struggled with spam, scams, impersonation, and account hijacking for years. And over the past week, two of them unveiled a new plan for dealing with it: passing the cost to users.
The first move came from Twitter, which made SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) a premium feature late last week. After March 20th, users will need to either switch to an app-based authentication system, pay $8 to $11 a month, or turn off the basic security feature. The decision is part of a larger attempt to push people onto subscription-based Twitter, and Musk also agreed with a tweet saying that it’s also an attempt to cut down on carriers charging Twitter for spam SMS messages.
Soon after, Meta announced its own security...