Elon Musk says Twitter is limiting how many posts a user can read

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(KRON/NEXSTAR) – Twitter is currently limiting the amount of content its users can access per day, according to a tweet from owner and chairman Elon Musk.

Musk announced Saturday that the app is “temporarily” putting a cap on the number of posts a user can “read,” initially saying that verified users would be able to access 6,000 posts per day and unverified users would have access to 600 per day, with any “new unverified” users only being able to read 300 posts per day, Musk tweeted.

He later amended those numbers in an update, saying the rate limits had been increased to “8000 for verified, 800 for unverified & 400 for new unverified.”

Musk did not indicate how long the limitations would be in effect, but only that they were enacted “to address “extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation.”

His post also did not specify if “reading” a tweet was the same thing as scrolling past a tweet. Some users further questioned what he meant by “data scraping,” but that was not clarified.

Musk’s announcement came after thousands of users reported being unable to access the site on Saturday morning. DownDetector indicated users having issues with both desktop and app versions of Twitter, with reports beginning to spike around 8 a.m. EST.

“Twitter down” also began trending around the same time. Some users reported seeing the note “rate limit exceeded” when attempting to use the application.

Later in the day, both “RIP Twitter,” “damn Twitter” and “wtf Twitter” began trending on the platform, with users expressing frustration and confusion at the new limitations.

“Damn twitter ruined fr fr now i need myspace to comebacc,” one user wrote.

“It’s almost like he wants to drive his own company out of business,” another said. “I just have to wonder why. Why would that make sense to him? Surely he has a reason, even if its not a sound one.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.