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.

  • sepi@piefed.social
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    9 hours ago

    I said water utility or local news - municipality alerts fits right in there, but I know you have to ask chatgpt to see if they are related.

    • hddsx@lemmy.ca
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      6 hours ago

      First of all, I don’t use LLMs. Second, I made my point specifically because things can be missed if you rely on utility (only checked if a difference in water pressure makes it to your faucet) or public news (may not report if it’s only your municipality).

      Are you being intentionally hostile for a reason?