An account responsible for delivering timely alerts about earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons in Japan encountered a temporary posting halt due to restrictions imposed by Elon Musk's platform, X.
NERV, a disaster prevention app operating the account, disclosed on Monday that they faced rate-limiting from X following a magnitude 7.6 earthquake along Japan's west coast.
“Our accounts seem to have been rate-limited due to frequent updates on the Ishikawa Earthquake and Tsunami,” NERV stated. “To continue receiving updates, we strongly advise downloading the NERV Disaster Prevention app.”
This development triggered widespread dismay on X, which implemented stringent posting limitations following Musk’s involvement.
“Twitter’s becoming useless. An earthquake info-account gets rate-limited for sharing too much,” a user criticised.
As of Tuesday, the death toll in Japan climbed to 55 with dozens injured. Musk’s supporters defended the rate-limiting, citing the $8 per month subscription required for access.
“X requires an $8/month fee; it's simple — pay the $8,” a user remarked.
However, critics highlighted that NERV's verified Japanese account indicated premium access, but the app required a monthly fee of $5,000 to mass-post via X's API.
Following numerous users tagging Musk in NERV’s thread, X responded urgently, registering NERV’s accounts as "Public Utility" accounts to resolve API rate-limiting.