Instagram's messaging app, Threads, is the latest social media platform to introduce rate limits in response to spam attacks. The move mirrors Twitter's recent approach to tackle similar issues, leading to Twitter owner Elon Musk amusingly dubbing Threads a 'copycat'.
Lmaooo
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 17, 2023
Copy 🐈
Earlier this month, Twitter enforced rate limits on the number of tweets users could read, following an extended outage caused by extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation. Twitter's solution was to initially limit verified users to 6,000 daily posts and unverified users to 600. After user backlash, these limits were increased and Musk has recently stated that he intends to raise the limit further for verified users.
The issue of spam and bot activity is now a pressing problem for Meta's new app, Threads. Instagram Head, Adam Mosseri, acknowledged the increase in spam attacks on Threads and has warned users of stricter rate limits, potentially affecting the most active users. Mosseri encouraged users to report if they are caught up in these protections, indicating a willingness from the Threads team to mitigate any negative impact on legitimate users.
Some users have already noted an increase in comment spam on the platform, with bot activity reportedly rising dramatically in recent days. Unless the issue of spam and bot control is effectively tackled, Threads may find itself facing the same challenges as Twitter.
