Facebook is testing a system that charges users for sharing web links, in a move that could prove to be a further blow to news outlets and other publishers.
Meta, the social media platform’s owner, said it is carrying out a “limited test” in which those without a paid Meta Verified subscription, costing at least £9.99 a month, can only post two external links a month.
The test appears to involve a subset of Facebook pages and user profiles on Professional Mode, which includes features used by content creators to monetise their posts.
News organisations are not included in the test. However, the move could hit newsrooms and other media publishers as it may stop their users from sharing their content.
The latest trial is part of a campaign to find ways of encouraging Facebook users to sign up to Meta Verified, which costs from £9.99 up to almost £400 per month per profile depending on the tier. It offers extra account features and security.
It’s literally just the network effect. At this point most of the user base probably has an account to keep track of birthdays, organise occasional social events, sell shit on marketplace, etc. That’s why they bought Instagram. FB was rendered irrelevant through enshittification.
As with messaging, if all of the big tech cartels were forced to implement an open source protocol that enabled users with data portability and interoperability, then the platforms would have to directly compete, and their value would drop 100x. Their only value is the closed network and holding user data hostage.
My HOA, My kids school, The PTA, anywhere adults need to have chatter. However, the next generation of adults is actively eschewing the service.
Could be interesting.