Twitter lets emergency, transport agencies to access its API for free

New Delhi, May 3,2023:  Twitter on Wednesday backtracked on its decision to put its application programming interface (API) behind a paywall, and will allow emergency and transportation service providers to access its APIs for free.

Twitter in February announced to stop offering free access to its API and instead launch a paid version for developers worldwide.

After the controversial decision, Several emergency and transportation accounts encountered issues posting alerts to the platform.

The US Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) also experienced disruptions to their API access.

Now, the Elon Musk-run platform has reversed its decision for some users.

“One of the most important use cases for the Twitter API has always been public utility. Verified gov or publicly-owned services who tweet weather alerts, transport updates and emergency notifications may use the API, for these critical purposes, for free,” said the company.

What the platform means by “verified” is still unclear.

MTA responded: “Glad that Twitter got the message. We’re happy that they’ve committed to making API access free for the MTA and other public sector agencies. In light of this reversal, we’re assessing our options for service alerts going forward”.

Other affected services, including the NWS, United States Geologic Service, and the US Forest Service, had directed users to other ways to receive real-time alerts.

With the free version of Twitter’s API, users can only post 1,500 automated tweets per month.