Musk announced the relaunch date on Twitter Tuesday, writing that the next release will “make sure that it is rock solid.”
Musk followed up his announcement by responding to a user’s question regarding unpaid blue checkmarks on Twitter, also referred to as “legacy checkmarks,” that were assigned to accounts prior to the Blue Verified program.
“All unpaid legacy Blue checkmarks will be removed in a few months,” Musk said.
Another change coming in the relaunch will include removing a verified user’s checkmark if they change their name, until the new handle “is confirmed by Twitter to meet Terms of Service,” Musk added in a separate tweet.
The Blue Verified subscription, which allowed users to receive the Twitter verification checkmark for a monthly fee of $8, was suspended last week after a number of impersonation accounts were created with the feature. Musk previously said that any fake accounts that did not indicate they were a “parody” on their profile would be removed from the platform.
Some of the impersonation accounts that received the most attention while Blue Verified was still active included users who impersonated Musk himself. Other public figures who had parody accounts dedicated to them include LeBron James, Nintendo of America and former President George W. Bush.
The verification subscription did receive some praise from users who had bought the service, including conservative public figures like Kyle Rittenhouse or Tennessee lawmaker Christina Buttons.
The Twitter checkmark was previously reserved to celebrities, journalists and public figures to have their personal accounts verified. During the first round of Blue Verified, the company also rolled out several “official” badges to accounts to differentiate between those who paid for a blue check and users who Twitter acknowledged as real.
Musk has received backlash since taking over Twitter after a $44 billion deal last month. Beyond the failed Blue Verified program, Musk has also made widespread cuts across the company, including firing the entire human rights department.
Musk previously said that there was “no choice” when it came to the layoffs, since the company was losing “over $4M/day.” The billionaire has also justified his blue-check subscription by saying it was a way for Twitter “to pay the bills somehow.”
Last week, Musk acknowledged the short-lived verification program and warned users that Twitter “will do lots of dumb things in coming months.”
“We will keep what works & change what doesn’t,” Musk wrote.
Newsweek has reached out to Musk’s press team for comment.
Update 11/15/22, 8:02 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and background.
