The paid verification on social platforms sparks controversy as the business model transformation faces challenges.

A famous American writer recently criticized a new paid verification system on a social web platform, arguing that the nearly $20 monthly price is too high. The new head of the platform responded, stating that the company needs to explore new sources of revenue and cannot solely rely on advertising income to maintain operations. He promised to release a detailed explanation and emphasized that paid verification is currently the most effective way to deal with bots and malicious users.

This controversy reflects the challenges that social platforms face in transforming their business models. On one hand, users' reliance on free services has become deeply ingrained; on the other hand, platforms need to explore sustainable ways to generate profit. Paid verification, while it can bring stable income to the platform, may also affect user experience and the platform ecosystem.

In the future, how the Social Web balances user experience, platform security, and commercial interests will be a topic worth paying attention to. This requires ongoing dialogue and adjustments between the platform providers and various stakeholders, including users and content creators.