In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, thousands of volunteer software developers have been using a crucial Twitter tool to comb the platform for calls for help.
In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, thousands of volunteer software developers have been using a crucial Twitter tool to comb the platform for calls for help — including from people trapped in collapsed buildings — and connect people with rescue organizations.
Monday is the deadline Twitter set for shutting off free access to its API, an added challenge for the thousands of developers in Turkey and beyond who are working around the clock to harness Twitter's unique, open ecosystem for disaster relief. It's not just disaster relief groups that are concerned. Academic and non-governmental researchers for years have used Twitter to study the spread of misinformation and hate speech or research public health or how people behave online.
Tromble said social platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and others are taking steps to increase researcher access and transparency — largely due to new European regulations. Twitter, on the other hand, is moving in the opposite direction.It costs money to maintain an API. As a private company, Twitter is free to charge for its tools. But researchers and developers say it wouldn't take much for Musk to carve out exceptions for academic research and nonprofits.
Kawamoto was ready to shut down the bot when Twitter first announced it was going to charge for API access. Paying $1,200 a year for an account that is decidedly not making a profit was not going to be possible. Last week, Twitter announced that it would make a small exception to offer"write-only" API access for free to accounts that send fewer than 1,500 tweets a month.
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