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The New York Times, after revealing plans of setting up a paywall for its site, has asked micro-blogging site Twitter to disable a feed which makes it possible to access articles on the site without paying.
The plan recently revealed by the publication allows access to up to 20 articles per day only without paying. For more access, a user needs to be a paying subscriber.
However, if articles are access via a direct link, the paywall could be bypassed effectively circumventing the whole scheme.
This is where a Twitter feed, with direct links to articles, comes in. But, the Times’ has asked Twitter to disable a feed named @FreeNYTimes for copyright infringement. The feed’s logo uses an image closely resembling the Times’ “T”.
However, observers have noted that because of the Times’ reason for asking Twitter to take down the feed, feeds which does not use any recognizable logo or name associated to the publication could spring up soon.
Consumers have also voiced that the Times’ price, which stands at $35 for monthly unlimited access across many platforms (PC, mobile, tablet), is quite high.
