Observed Signal · Oct 17, 2023 · Policy Update · Source: Trending Topics · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Negative
X/Twitter continues to delay links to eight competitors
X (formerly Twitter) is deliberately slowing links to several competitor platforms, according to a new investigation by The Markup. The delays affect Facebook, Instagram, Substack, Bluesky, Threads, Patreon, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger, with observed wait times of several seconds. The throttling occurs via X's t.co URL shortener, which normally resolves links in milliseconds. The Markup released an online tool for users to measure these delays. In August, X also delayed links to the New York Times and Reuters, attributing the issue to a bug, but delays persist. A cited Google study indicates that increasing page load time from one to three seconds raises the probability of users leaving a site by 32%, potentially harming referral traffic and advertising revenue for affected publishers.
X/Twitter is deliberately throttling links to competitor platforms, reducing referral traffic and potentially impacting ad revenue for those publishers and networks.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- X/Twitter is throttling links to eight competitor platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Substack, Bluesky, Threads, Patreon, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger.
- The Markup published an online tool that demonstrates link delays of several seconds.
- X's t.co URL shortener is used to resolve links; delays occur after the shortening process.
- In August 2023, X delayed links to the New York Times and Reuters by about 4.5 seconds.
- A Google study shows that increasing page load time from 1 to 3 seconds raises bounce rate by 32%.
Connected Companies & Entities
9 Entities mapped“Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger, which are among the affected platforms....”
“Substack, a blog portal, is affected by the delays....”
“Patreon is among the platforms whose links are delayed....”
“The New York Times' links were delayed in August....”
“Reuters' links were also delayed....”
“Reuters' links were also delayed....”
“Heise, a German tech news site, reported on the delays....”
“Google's study on page load times is cited in the article....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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