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Twitter recently changed the pricing of its API, with reports claiming enterprise access costs up to $42,000 per month.
Twitter’s API changes have caused more fallout, with WordPress ending its JetPack sharing plugin with the social media site.
In a blog post, WordPress said it is ending Jetpack Social’s connection to Twitter due to the site’s decision to “dramatically change the terms and pricing of the Twitter API”.
This API is used by third parties to obtain publicly available data from the platform, which can then be used to create external apps that connect back to the site. The API was previously freely accessible.
WordPress and its parent company Automattic used this API to connect Twitter to Jetpack Social, which lets users automatically share their blog posts on social media sites.
But in recent months, Twitter removed free access to its API offering and introduced a “paid basic tier”. Since this change, enterprise-level access to this API reportedly costs up to $42,000 per month.
“We have attempted to work with Twitter in good faith to negotiate new terms, but we have not been able to reach an agreement,” WordPress said in a blog post.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this causes for your website and marketing efforts. We wish the outcome had been different, but our customers are always our primary concern and we’re not willing to compromise the experience or value you receive from Jetpack.”
WordPress said Jetpack social is still working for other social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, along with plans to auto-share blog posts to Instagram and Mastodon.
Third-party fallout
Twitter blocked various third-party apps from the site earlier this year, as the company moved to enforce “long-standing API rules”.
In January, the platform began blocking various third-party apps from accessing Twitter, before quietly updating its developer agreement to ban third-party clients entirely.
The updated rules state that other groups can’t use Twitter’s API or its licensed materials to “create or attempt to create a substitute or similar service or product to the Twitter applications”.
These applications essentially refer to all of Twitter’s services, as it includes “consumer facing products, services, applications, websites, web pages, platforms, and other offerings”.
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