Twitter’s widely criticized premium service is coming back.
Company CEO Elon Musk announced the move on Friday, weeks after suspending paid verifications. The previous service allowed all users to purchase the coveted blue check for $8 a month; however, Twitter paused the option shortly after its rollout, as a growing number of accounts started abusing the offer to impersonate celebrities, athletes, and companies.
Musk explained the updated service will have a color-coded verification system that distinguishes notable people and entities that are of public interest.
“Gold check for companies, grey check for government, blue for individuals (celebrity or not) and all verified accounts will be manually authenticated before check activates,” Elon tweeted, adding the change was “painful, but necessary.”
Musk said the service was “tentatively launching” on Dec. 2.
The update comes a day after Musk confirmed he would grant “general amnesty” for some suspended accounts. He shared the news after conducting a poll in which the majority of users supported reinstating accounts that have not “broken the law or engaged in egregious spam.” More than 72 percent of respondents voted in favor of the move.
“The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week,” Musk tweeted, adding “Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” a Latin phrase that means “The voice of the people is the voice of God.”
Earlier this month, Musk reinstated the accounts of several polarizing figures, including Kanye West, Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson, and former president Donald Trump. The latter said he has no plans to return to the platform.
“I hear we’re getting a big vote to also go back on Twitter. I don’t see it because I don’t see any reason for it,” Trump said during the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting, referencing the platform’s recent struggles. “They have a lot of problems at Twitter, you see what’s going on. It may make it, it may not make it.”
