Nov 21, 2022 - Economy

Elon Musk "holding off" on Twitter Blue Verified relaunch

Rebecca Falconer

Elon Musk attends The 2022 Met Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 02, 2022 in New York City. — Elon Musk attending The 2022 Met Gala in New York City. Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Elon Musk announced Monday he's "holding off" on the relaunch of Twitter Blue Verified until "there is high confidence of stopping impersonation."

Driving the news: Twitter's new billionaire owner made the revamped $7.99 monthly subscription service that comes with a blue checkmark next to users' names his top priority and launched it two weeks ago, but put it on hold until Nov. 29 after a spate of new verified-checkmark users embarked on fraudulent pranks.

That resulted in free speech advocate Musk announcing a permanent ban on Twitter accounts "engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying 'parody.'"

What we're watching: Musk indicated another change was on the way for the revamped Blue Verified service, saying in a tweet that the social media company will "probably use different color check for organizations than individuals."

The big picture: Twitter has been in a state of turmoil since Musk took over and fired thousands of staff, with products and features launched then pulled, Axios Login author Ina Fried notes.

Go deeper: Twitter's checkmark chaos

Add Axios on Google

Elon Musk "holding off" on Twitter Blue Verified relaunch

What to read next