Aug 16, 2023 10:58:00

Clearly that X (old Twitter) intentionally slows down access to Threads, The New York Times, Bluesky, etc.

X (formerly Twitter) access speed to Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, The New York Times, Reuters, Substack, etc., a platform that owner Elon Musk has publicly disliked It has been pointed out that it reduces

Elon Musk's Twitter throttles links to Threads, Blue Sky and New York Times - The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/08/15/twitter-x-links-delayed/

X, formerly Twitter, slowed down access to Threads, The New York Times, Bluesky and more | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/15/x-formerly-twitter-slows-down-access-to-threads-the-new-york-times-bluesky-and-more/

It was a user of the overseas bulletin board Hacker News who first pointed out that X was slowing down access to some websites. It was pointed out on August 15, 2023, ``When you access Twitter (currently X) and click the link to go to either 'NYTimes.com' or 'threads.net' URL, , there is a delay of about 5 seconds before forwarding to the correct URL from t.co (X's shortened URL feature) Twitter doesn't block domains it doesn't like, but it does delay visiting them. I've been following the NYT (The New York Times) delay since it was added (August 4th, around noon PST) and the delay is clearly intentional and consistent.' is posted.

Tell HN: t.co is adding a five-second delay to some domains | Hacker News
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37130060

After that, The Washington Post also reported that X intentionally slows down access to some websites. An independent investigation by The Washington Post reveals that X's rival services Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Substack, as well as Reuters and The New York Times, are intentionally slowing access speeds. Masu.

In addition, a few hours after The Washington Post reported that ``X is intentionally delaying access to some websites,'' X seems to have lifted the access speed reduction measures for some websites. However, it is unknown whether all websites have been lifted from access speed reduction measures.

According to The Washington Post, it seems that access speed reduction measures are taken via 't.co', a shortened URL service used by X. If the URL is accessed via X's post, it links to the website via t.co. As a result, X is able to track user activity, but in this case, it seems that the display of the web page is intentionally delayed by reducing the access speed during this routing. Basically, even if it is a link via t.co, the target website is usually displayed within 1 second.

Regarding the reason for intentionally slowing down the access speed, overseas media TechCrunch said, ``Users may get frustrated if the content remains unloaded for 1-2 seconds. It can have a big impact on website traffic.'

TechCrunch also tested the speed of accessing multiple web services, but other major websites such as YouTube and Fox News were unaffected. In addition, TechCrunch reports that 'access speed delays occur only on websites that Mr. Mask has attacked or ridiculed in the past.'

A person who worked at Twitter in the past told

Bluesky , 'Chrome mysteriously takes 5 seconds to receive 650 bytes of data. This phenomenon does not seem to be true for Twitter (now X). It's as crazy as it gets.” “UX research on web performance shows that even a 1 second delay is enough for users to start switching context. We also know that time is reduced. Delays, even if they are unconscious, are annoying enough to push people away,' he posted, pointing out that there is an intentional delay in X. Masu.

Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg also reacted with a thinking face emoji to a post pointing out that X is intentionally slowing access speed.

In addition, since Mr. Mask has blocked links to rival services such as Substack and Threads in the past, TechCrunch pointed out, ``This is not the first time Mr. Mask has reflected his personal dissatisfaction on X.'' Also, in April 2023, Mr. Mask mentioned about The New York Times that ``their propaganda is not interesting'' and stripped the authenticated badge.

It is reported that Twitter blocks links to Threads - GIGAZINE