Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday that a higher priced subscription of the social media platform will not carry advertisements.
The billionaire also said that ads are "too frequent on
Twitter and too big," and that steps will be taken to address those issues
in coming weeks.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Twitter earns nearly 90 percent of its revenue from selling
digital ads and Musk recently attributed a "massive drop in revenue"
to rights organizations that have pressured brands to pause their Twitter ads.
Earlier in December, Musk announced that Twitter's Basic
blue tick will have half the number of advertisements and that it will offer a
higher tier with no advertisements by 2023.
Last week, Twitter said it would price Twitter Blue
subscription for Android at $11 per month - the same as for iOS subscribers -
while offering a cheaper annual plan for web users when compared to monthly
charges.
The blue check mark - previously free for verified accounts
of politicians, famous personalities, journalists and other public figures -
will now be open to anyone prepared to pay. It was rolled out last year to help
Twitter grow revenue as owner Elon Musk fights to retain advertisers.
Google's Android users will be able to purchase Twitter
Blue's monthly subscription for $11, the same price as for Apple's iOS users,
Twitter said on its website. The higher pricing for Android users is likely to
offset fees charged by Android's Google Play Store, like Apple's App Store. The
annual plan for subscription to Blue, only available on the web, was priced at
$84, a discount to the monthly web subscription price of $8.
The discount for web users would be available in countries including United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, Twitter said. © Reuters