Elon Musk's Twitter Tweaks Nuked These 13 Useful Emergency Service Bots

Genuinely useful automated Twitter accounts run by the NWS, the MTA, and BART have been suspended from Twitter's API.

PublishedApril 18, 2023

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Image for article titled Elon Musk's Twitter Tweaks Nuked These 13 Useful Emergency Service Bots — Screenshot: U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center

Automated emergency and essential service Twitter accounts have become the latest casualty in Elon Musk’s flailing effort to rid Twitter of bots and squeeze users to pay for previously free access to its application programming interface (API).

Over half a dozen Twitter accounts associated with the National Weather Service tweeted out statements over the weekend saying Twitter had barred them from using its API. Twitter’s sudden suspension means the accounts are prevented from instantly pushing out automated weather alerts and warnings from their parent agencies. Those accounts have hundreds of thousands of followers collectively and are an invaluable safety tool for community members trying to keep track of potentially dangerous weather events. Twitter also suspended the US National Tsunami Warning Center’s API access before eventually reversing that decision. It remains unclear why Twitter decided to reverse course on some of those suspensions and not others.

Weather service accounts weren’t the only accounts impacted. Automated accounts associated with New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority and San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit also lost their API access, leaving millions of followers unable to receive up-to-date information on public transit delays or dangers via Twitter. Twitter has since reversed BART’s API suspension, but it’s unclear if it will do the same thing for the MTA.

All of that chaos and confusion stems from Musk’s haphazard attempt to monetize access to Twitter’s API. Starting this month, developers interested in accessing the API now have to choose between a Free, Basic, or Enterprise tiers. The free version provides 1,500 tweets each month at the app level. That figure jumps up to 3,000 tweets per month if developers fork over $100 for the Basic tear. The Enterprise tier, which is what most government agencies say they would need, costs an eye-watering $42,000 per month. Twitter argued the drastic changes to the once-free system were meant to combat Twitter’s bot plague. That may have worked, but Musk’s tier system is killing off good bots along with the bad.

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Twitter suspended, then unsuspended, API access for National Tsunami Warning account

Powerful, disruptive tsunamis can occur with little advanced warning which makes real-time social media alerts noting their appearance all the more critical. That critical safety measure was put at risk over the weekend. On Friday, the National Weather Service’s tsunami alerts Twitter page said the company had begun limiting its automated tweets which affected its ability to post-tsunami warnings, advisories, watches, and information statements.

“During a #tsunami event, our primary mission is to message our Warning Points through official

@NWS channels,” the NWS wrote. “This serves the most people in the fastest way possible. Social media posts are automated to speed up the posting process until more help can arrive.”

The account encouraged followers to download the NOAA and Fema weather apps to ensure they receive up to date alerts. In extreme cases, the NWS said the Emergency Alert System would issue an alert on television and over radio.

Fortunately for anyone potentially in a tsunami’s path, the tsunami alert page issued an update two days later saying Twitter’s development team had restored its API access.

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Multiple National Weather Service accounts lost API access

The National Weather Service pushed out tweets from at least five of its regional accounts on April 15 saying Twitter had begun limiting their automated tweets which they said prevents them from automatically posting weather warnings.

“We will continue to provide general updates, but always ensure that you have multiple means for receiving weather information & alerts,” the tweets read.

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is afraid it’ll be suspended, says it’s working with Twitter

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration regularly monitors atmospheric conditions and occasionally shoots out weather warnings and tips to its 1.2 million followers on Twitter. The agency didn’t issue a tweet about the API changes though a spokesperson acknowledged the challenging environment in an interview with a local Fort Wane, Indiana publication.

“We are aware of the announced changes to Twitter’s API service,” the spokesperson said “We will work with Twitter on the impact this change may have on our Twitter feeds. Communications via social media is a supplemental service provided by the National Weather Service to extend the reach of NWS information.”

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New York’s MTA was unable to post transit updates

New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, which serves around 15.3 million within New York and Connecticut, said Twitter’s API changes had prevented it from posting service alerts. The MTA’s told its followers to check the agency’s website for real-time service information and to turn to WhatsApp for help with subway and bus services. It’s unclear if Twitter addressed the issue with the MTA.

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San Francisco’s BART lost API access and then got it back all in the same day

Nearly 3,000 miles away from New York, San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Twitter page was also impacted. The BART account published a tweet saying it received an email from Twitter saying informing them it was suspended from accessing its API. The agency said it was “disappointed” with Twitter’s decision and advised its followers to turn instead to the BART website or download the BART app for up to date transit notifications in the interim.

“Twitter has been our most successful social platform,” BART wrote. “We have far more followers here than anywhere. We’ve gone viral many times for support of public transit and met incredible riders here. As we consider other platforms, we can’t help but feel disappointed by Twitter’s decision.”

Twitter apparently saw user frustration surrounding the BART’s suspension. Hours after the original tweet, BART posted a follow-up saying someone from Twitter’s development team reached out to them and unsuspended their account.

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Independent pollution trackers also lost API access

Twitter’s API debacle has forced some smaller public health accounts like Plume Plotter to go back to the drawing board. Plume Plotter runs an automated Twitter account that attempts to track the state of air pollution caused by current and planned incinerators around the country. The account posted a copy of a message it received from Twitter’s developer platform saying it had been suspended from using Twitter’s API. Now, the account has had to revert to manually drafting every update.

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The storm-tracking Spotter Network says Twitter’s preventing it from posting real-time storm-tracking info

The Spotter Network, a severe storm tracking site which describes itself as a “network of information,” bringing together storm spotters, storm chasers, and public servants said Twitter’s new API rule meant they could no longer continue operating their automated Twitter account. In lieu of its automated account, the Spotter Network said followers could still access their real time data on its website.

“Obviously we’re disappointed with this move as we could never afford to pay for the service at the level we send this life-saving information at on busy severe weather days,” Spotter Network wrote.

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Small Weather Hobbyists Aren’t Safe Either

Even relatively small, public service-oriented weather bots faced Twitter’s wrath. Calgary Weather Records, an account with less than 3,000 followers that semi-regularly tweets weather updates issued a tweet on Saturday saying Twitter had suspended its API accounts. Like others, Calgary Weather advised its followers to follow the account on Mastodon and Reddit for more update information.

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