Mark Zuckerberg revealed Sunday that Facebook and Instagram will begin a paid membership service starting at $11.99 per month that will allow users to verify their accounts, after a similar move by Elon Musk at Twitter.
Facebook Verified, which will launch this week in Australia and New Zealand, will allow users to “verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and direct access to customer support,” as per Zuckerberg.
“This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services,” he stated in a Facebook statement.
The soical media gaint added that verified Facebook and Instagram profiles will remain the same and that only people who are at least 18 years old would be permitted to subscribe.
Musk’s initial attempts to introduce a similar service at rival social media network Twitter last year backfired horribly, scaring away advertisers and raising serious concerns about the site’s future.
He was compelled to temporarily halt the program before resuming it in December to muted reaction.
The social media powerhouse, which has struggled financially over the past year, announced in November that it would lay off 11,000 workers, or 13 percent of its workforce—the largest worker reduction in the company’s history.
The layoffs are a part of a wave of layoffs that Silicon Valley giants have recently announced as the once-untouchable industry experiences economic doom.
Additionally, Meta is facing criticism for taking a big chance on the metaverse, a virtual reality environment that Zuckerberg thinks will be the online space’s next frontier.
Investors severely punished Meta last year, sending the stock down an astounding two thirds in just one year, but in 2023, the price has partially recovered.
The company reported its first annual sales decline since going public in 2012 earlier this month, but the decline was not as severe as anticipated.
The business also recently declared that Facebook had surpassed 2 billion daily users for the first time.
News Source: CGTN
