Starting this week, Twitter Blue subscribers have the ability to post videos of up to 2 hours on the social network. Elon Musk had already announced that this would be one of the privileges of those who subscribe to paid Twitter. For some Twitter Blue users, uploading long videos is important because they use the social network as a content creation and distribution platform, in the same way that other influencers or journalists use YouTube, Instagram or TikTok. The novelty is part of Musk’s strategy aimed at transforming Twitter into a superapp.
Although the consequences of this new maneuver seemed obvious, it seems that neither Elon Musk nor Twitter had foreseen the way in which users have taken advantage of this new functionality. A few minutes after Musk made the announcement of this new feature on his Twitter account, some people started responding by posting full length movies. Among the comments, one could find links to movies like Shrek 2 and Shrek 3, from DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures, which could be watched from start to finish.
In any case, the shrinking Twitter moderation team is removing all of this copyrighted content. Film production companies are often quick to report tweets containing small snippets of their films, so it’s understandable that they’ll react even worse when seeing their entire productions available for free.
Twitter will need to take preventative measures to prevent copyright infringement through this new feature. Although we do not know if the company has any automated security system or if manual content control is carried out, it is clear that it will be necessary to establish mechanisms to monitor the correct use of this new feature implemented by Elon Musk.
However, only Twitter Blue users have the ability to post full-length videos, which means those who want to share full-length movies will have to pay for the subscription. Although the Shrek movies that were initially shared have been removed, some users continue to post music videos on loop, like Rick Astley’s classic “Never Gonna Give You Up” or viral YouTube videos like the legendary “Nyan Cat.” In addition, many memes have also been made associating this new Twitter function with the death of YouTube.
Since Elon Musk bought Twitter, the platform has undergone numerous changes and improvements to its features and tools. These include charging for verification, the ability to edit tweets, and the ability to add bold and italic text, as well as reducing ads.
The advent of 2-hour videos opens up new possibilities for Twitter Blue users, but also poses challenges in terms of copyright compliance. With their creativity unleashed, users continue to explore the possibilities of this new feature, making it clear that the platform is constantly evolving under the influence of Elon Musk and his disruptive vision.
