Meta Platforms, the social media giant, launches a paid subscription service, one of whose features is having certified Facebook or Instagram accounts.
Social media giant Meta Platforms is following in Twitter’s footsteps.
The owner of Facebook and Instagram wants to monetize the new features and thus diversify his sources of income.
Facebook, the so-called free social network, which “would always remain so”, will offer a paid subscription with its sister platform Instagram.
Its economic model, based on advertising, is faltering.
Meta verified looks like Twitter blue
CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta Verified on February 17.
This service offers users the ability to verify their Facebook and Instagram accounts, to make sure an impostor or troll isn’t impersonating them.
Verified accounts will have a blue badge. The service is called Meta Verified and it will cost $11.99 a month for users who sign up on the web and $14.99 a month for those using Apple’s iOS operating system.
Meta Verified resembles Twitter’s Blue service, launched last November by Elon Musk, the platform’s owner.
Blue costs $7.99 a month for people using any Android smartphone and $11 a month for iPhone users, unless they sign up online. This price difference is explained by the fact that Musk wants to pass on to users the fee that Apple charges for purchases made through its App Store.
“Good morning and new product announcement,” Zuckerberg said on February 19. “This week we started rolling out Meta Verified, a subscription service that lets you verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get added phishing protection against accounts claiming to be you, and get direct access to the Customer Service”.
He added: “This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across all of our services.”
The service will be available for the first time to users in Australia and New Zealand this week. Meta plans to expand to other countries later.
On Facebook and Instagram, subscribers will get a badge that shows their identity has been verified, as well as protections for their account (including against identity theft), “direct” access to customer service, and more visibility.
Users are not happy with the new service
The announcement was very poorly received by some users who did not hesitate to let Zuckerberg know.
“Direct access to customer support is the real value, much more than the blue check mark,” one Facebook user told Zuckerberg.
“I agree that it’s a big part of the value. Also, once you’ve verified your account with a government ID, we can more effectively find and remove any impostor accounts, since we know what your real account is.” , replied the CEO.
One user was not convinced by this reasoning.
“This really should just be part of the core product, the user shouldn’t have to pay for this. Clearly Meta knows this fills a need, why take additional benefit from it? I’m not sure how that supports authenticity. Be it transparent as to the purpose of the feature,” they told Zuckerberg.
“We already provide protections and some support for everyone,” the CEO responded. “But verifying government IDs and providing direct access to customer support for millions or billions of people costs a significant amount of money. Subscription fees will cover this and also determine how many people sign up so we can ensure quality as it climbs.”
Goal (GOAL) – Get a free reportclarified that the service is primarily aimed at creators and influencers, willing to pay to have their content more widely distributed and appear at the top of search results and recommendations.
The testing phase should allow the company to evaluate and possibly adjust its offer, based on feedback. For now, the subscription is reserved for individuals and professionals over 18 years of age.
It is not open to commercial accounts.
This service is a break from Facebook’s motto.
TikTok and Apple are not helping
The slogan of the social network, founded in 2004, has long been “It’s free and (always will be).”
Facebook had established the dominant model of major online platforms: users benefit from free services that, in return, collect personal information about them to target them with personalized advertising.
Acclaimed by advertisers from big brands to small businesses, Google and Meta have quickly become the dominant players in the industry, raking in tens of billions of dollars each year.
But the launch of a paid service shows that this economic model is now showing its limits. Last year, Meta saw its advertising revenue fall for the first time since the Menlo Park, California-based company went public in 2012. And its annual net income was $23.2 billion, down 41% from the previous year.
Some 3.740 million people use at least one of the company’s services (social networks and messaging) each month. But between inflation, which is eating into advertiser budgets, and fierce competition from apps like TikTok, ad revenue is declining.
Meta is also affected by changes made by Apple (AAPL) – Get a free reportwhich has restricted the ability of social networks to collect user data to sell targeted advertising.
As a result, the company is now slashing its costs to preserve its profitability. Meta implemented a massive plan in the fall, cutting 13% of its workforce, and Zuckerberg indicated earlier this month that he wanted fewer managers at “mid-levels.”
This year will be the year of “efficiency”, he said, comments welcomed by the markets.
