Saudi firms face 6.7% higher Twitter verification fees than US

DUBAI — Twitter is charging firms in Saudi Arabia an estimated 6.7% higher price compared to American and global companies to subscribe to its Twitter Verified Organizations plan that adds a gold checkmark and benefits for business accounts.

The gold checkmark, currently in a testing phase according to Twitter's webpage, is one of about six verification symbols that users can acquire through paid subscriptions or other means. 

They include blue checkmarks for individuals who subscribe, grey for government and associated entities, and one category meant to identify bots, or automated accounts, which can be used for malicious activity online. An account can have multiple verification symbols at the same time. 

The standard price for an organization is $1,000 for a monthly base subscription and an additional $50 per month for each affiliate (whether individual employees or entities within the organization), according to the help center page about Twitter verified organizations. 

Saudi companies are required to pay $1,066.67, or 6.7% more than the standard price, for the base monthly subscription. Organizations in the kingdom are required to pay $53.33, also 6.7% more, for each affiliate monthly.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Egypt and Israel are required to pay monthly subscription amounts only slightly above the $1,000 standard. 

These are the monthly fees for certain Middle Eastern countries' basic and affiliate subscriptions:

Saudi Arabia       $1,066.67 - $53.33  

UAE                    $1,007.49 - $50.37 

Qatar                  $1,016.48 - $52.20

Egypt                  $1003.35 - $50.17 

Israel                  $1001.20 - $50.60

Syria, Sudan, Iran, the West Bank and Gaza Strip are not on the price list and appear to be unable to purchase this subscription. Other countries not on the list include China and Russia. All other Middle East and North African countries are listed to pay the standard $1,000 monthly subscription and $50 monthly affiliate fee. 

Organizations from European countries seem to have the highest price points, with the fee in most countries — including the United Kingdom, France and Sweden — exceeding $1,100 monthly, in addition to a charge of about $60 dollars for affiliates. This equates to an increase of more than 10% from the base monthly fee, and an additional 20% for affiliates. 

Twitter did not specify why prices differ between certain countries. “Prices may vary by region and are subject to change," the help center page states.

Al-Monitor reached out to Twitter for a response via its press email account and received an automatic reply with a poop emoji. Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced that this will be the standard response from the social media platform to press email requests in a March 19 tweet.  

Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in an April deal last year to turn the platform private, monetize it and, as he claimed, enhance free speech while suppressing misinformation campaigns. He immediately fired top executives after the acquisition and tweeted at the time, “The bird is freed."