America. Verified accounts on Twitter cost money.

According to media reports, tech billionaire Elon Musk wants to monetize users after his expensive Twitter acquisition.

Until now, icons with a check mark guaranteeing the authenticity of a Twitter profile are available for free. However, they are mainly available to users with large followings such as celebrities, companies and politicians or journalists.

On Monday night, tech blogs “Platformer” and “The Verge” reported that the verification ticks would only be available to customers of the Twitter Blue subscription offering. It currently costs $4.99 a month.

“The Verge” also wrote, citing people with information and internal contacts, that the verification should be part of a new, more expensive Blue Edition. Twitter wants to charge $19.99 a month for this. The software developers were given a deadline of November 7 to start operating – or they would be fired.

Musk wrote on Twitter on Sunday that the verification process is currently being revised. He paid about $44 billion for Twitter. Some of the money came from the sale of his stake in electric car maker Tesla — but also from contributions from investors and loans to service. Twitter has been in the red lately.

SDA