Twitterati Fumes Over Elon Musk’s Decision to Charge for Text Two-Factor Authentication | “Ridiculous Lmao”

One has to take risks to reach the heights of success that the tech billionaire Elon Musk has reached. One also has to be ambitious and make a bunch of controversial decisions. And when it comes to making controversial decisions, Musk is pretty famous for it. Ever since he took control of Twitter in October 2022, Musk has been receiving one backlash after another. He made the blue tick verification badges on Twitter which are used to identify legitimate accounts of notable public figures a paid service. He ordered mass layoffs and several Twitter employees were fuming about the poor conditions they have to work in. 

Adding to his string of controversial decisions are the changes in the two-factor authentication on Twitter. According to Variety, Musk has lately revealed that two-factor authentication by text message will no longer be available for all users on Twitter. Millions of Twitter users panicked when they began receiving notifications telling them to remove the security feature or risk losing access to Twitter.

Twitter released a blog statement on Wednesday, officially announcing that the process will begin shortly where only paid Twitter users will be allowed to use SMS authentication for their accounts. “We have seen phone-number-based 2-factor-authentication be used - and abused - by bad actors,” the statement reads. “So starting today, we will no longer allow accounts to enroll in the text message/SMS method of 2-factor authentication unless they are Twitter Blue subscribers.”

The two-factor authentication method requires the users to enter a single-use code which is often sent via SMS in addition to their account password. This has been a helpful tool for countless people as it helps in preventing, doxing, hacking, and identity theft. Twitter also revealed that the other two-factor verification measures like authenticator apps and security keys will remain available for free.

According to a tweet made by Musk, “the company has been getting scammed by phone companies for $60M/year of fake 2FA SMS messages.” Twitter Blue is a premium service from Twitter that allows anyone to buy a verification badge for $8 per month and non-Twitter blue users won’t get this benefit either. On top of that, they have 30 days to disable the security feature and enroll in the other two options provided: a physical security key or an authentication app. Any account that still has text authentication will have the feature automatically disabled by March 20.

Of course, the netizens did not take this news lightly and Twitter has been erupting with hate comments and trolls attacking Elon Musk for his absurd decision.

“I had a stalker for years who would spend hours trying to hack my accounts. I would get dozens of 2-factor texts in a row. It was horrifying, but also a great lesson in how vital these security features are. Elon Musk is now charging for a basic necessity,” culture writer Ella Dawson wrote.  Several celebrities and public figures also showed their outrage over Musk's decision and posted about how harmful it is to their careers.

We can only hope Elon Musk rethinks his decision and keeps free stuff...free.