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What Does Twitter ‘Rate Limit Exceeded’ Mean for Users?

Twitter corporate headquarters building is seen in downtown San Francisco, California, US November 21, 2022. (Reuters)
Twitter corporate headquarters building is seen in downtown San Francisco, California, US November 21, 2022. (Reuters)
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What Does Twitter ‘Rate Limit Exceeded’ Mean for Users?

Twitter corporate headquarters building is seen in downtown San Francisco, California, US November 21, 2022. (Reuters)
Twitter corporate headquarters building is seen in downtown San Francisco, California, US November 21, 2022. (Reuters)

Elon Musk's Twitter has put a temporary limit on the number of tweets that users can see each day, a move that has sparked some backlash and could undermine the social network's efforts to attract advertisers.

The limit, imposed to "address extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation", is the latest change by Twitter, which was last year acquired by Musk for $44 billion.

What does the latest change mean and what are the alternatives to Twitter?

How do the changes impact users?

Users cannot view tweets without logging in to the platform. Verified accounts can now read 6,000 posts per day, unverified accounts 600 posts and new un-verified accounts 300 posts. After that, users will get a message that says, "rate limit exceeded".

Musk has said that limit will "soon" increase to 10,000 for verified, 1,000 for unverified and 500 for new unverified.

He has been pushing to make Twitter's overhauled verified service more attractive. Musk made Twitter verified - special badges that were earlier given to notable profiles - a paid subscription and introduced tiers like gray, blue and golden badges.

Why did Musk put the limit?

Musk said the limits would help tackle scraping vast amounts of data from Twitter by almost everyone - from AI companies and startups to tech behemoths.

"It is rather galling to have to bring large numbers of servers online on an emergency basis just to facilitate some AI startup's outrageous valuation," he said in a tweet.

The technology behind generative AI tools such as ChatGPT is trained on massive amounts of data taken from the internet that helps produce everything from poems to pictures.

What are users saying?

Several Twitter users complained, with "#TwitterDown" and "RIP Twitter" trending on the social network website over the past couple of days.

The limits especially impact accounts run by informational agencies, journalists and monitoring services as they rely on reviewing thousands of tweets every day.

The National Weather Service said it may be unable to see tweeted reports of severe weather and associated damage, and asked subscribers to use its office telephone numbers instead.

What are the alternatives?

Twitter-like platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon are the main alternatives. They saw a surge in users and activity soon after Musk announced the limits.

Bluesky, launched by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and now in the beta mode, said it saw "record high traffic" on Saturday and that it was temporarily pausing new sign-ups.

Mastodon also saw its active user base swell by 110,000 on that day, its creator and CEO Eugen Rochko said.

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Technology

Justice at Stake as Generative AI Enters the Courtroom

Generative artificial intelligence has been used in the US legal system by judges performing research, lawyers filing appeals and parties involved in cases who wanted help expressing themselves in court. Jefferson Siegel / POOL/AFP
Generative artificial intelligence has been used in the US legal system by judges performing research, lawyers filing appeals and parties involved in cases who wanted help expressing themselves in court. Jefferson Siegel / POOL/AFP
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Justice at Stake as Generative AI Enters the Courtroom

Generative artificial intelligence has been used in the US legal system by judges performing research, lawyers filing appeals and parties involved in cases who wanted help expressing themselves in court. Jefferson Siegel / POOL/AFP
Generative artificial intelligence has been used in the US legal system by judges performing research, lawyers filing appeals and parties involved in cases who wanted help expressing themselves in court. Jefferson Siegel / POOL/AFP

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is making its way into courts despite early stumbles, raising questions about how it will influence the legal system and justice itself.

Judges use the technology for research, lawyers utilize it for appeals and parties involved in cases have relied on GenAI to help express themselves in court.

"It's probably used more than people expect," said Daniel Linna, a professor at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, about GenAI in the US legal system.

"Judges don't necessarily raise their hand and talk about this to a whole room of judges, but I have people who come to me afterward and say they are experimenting with it”.

In one prominent instance, GenAI enabled murder victim Chris Pelkey to address an Arizona courtroom -- in the form of a video avatar -- at the sentencing of the man convicted of shooting him dead in 2021 during a clash between motorists.

"I believe in forgiveness," said a digital proxy of Pelkey created by his sister, Stacey Wales.

The judge voiced appreciation for the avatar, saying it seemed authentic.

"I knew it would be powerful," Wales told , "that that it would humanize Chris in the eyes of the judge."

The AI testimony, a first of its kind, ended the sentencing hearing at which Wales and other members of the slain man's family spoke about the impact of the loss.

Since the hearing, examples of GenAI being used in US legal cases have multiplied.

"It is a helpful tool and it is time-saving, as long as the accuracy is confirmed," said attorney Stephen Schwartz, who practices in the northeastern state of Maine.

"Overall, it's a positive development in jurisprudence."

Schwartz described using ChatGPT as well as GenAI legal assistants, such as LexisNexis Protege and CoCounsel from Thomson Reuters, for researching case law and other tasks.

"You can't completely rely on it," Schwartz cautioned, recommending that cases proffered by GenAI be read to ensure accuracy.

"We are all aware of a horror story where AI comes up with mixed-up case things."

The technology has been the culprit behind false legal citations, far-fetched case precedents, and flat-out fabrications.

In early May, a federal judge in Los Angeles imposed $31,100 in fines and damages on two law firms for an error-riddled petition drafted with the help of GenAI, blasting it as a "collective debacle."

The tech is also being relied on by some who skip lawyers and represent themselves in court, often causing legal errors.

And as GenAI makes it easier and cheaper to draft legal complaints, courts already overburdened by caseloads could see them climb higher, said Shay Cleary of the National Center for State Courts.

"Courts need to be prepared to handle that," Cleary said.

Transformation

Law professor Linna sees the potential for GenAI to be part of the solution though, giving more people the ability to seek justice in courts made more efficient.

"We have a huge number of people who don't have access to legal services," Linna said.

"These tools can be transformative; of course we need to be thoughtful about how we integrate them."

Federal judges in the US capitol have written decisions noting their use of ChatGPT in laying out their opinions.

"Judges need to be technologically up-to-date and trained in AI," Linna said.

GenAI assistants already have the potential to influence the outcome of cases the same way a human law clerk might, reasoned the professor.

Facts or case law pointed out by GenAI might sway a judge's decision, and could be different than what a legal clerk would have come up with.

But if GenAI lives up to its potential and excels at finding the best information for judges to consider, that could make for well-grounded rulings less likely to be overturned on appeal, according to Linna.