🔗 Share this article Meta Trials User Fees for Posting Web Links, Potentially Striking a Hard Blow to Publishers Meta, the company behind Facebook, is conducting a limited test where users without a Meta Verified account may be limited to sharing only two external web links per month. Details of the Test This experiment at present includes a selection of Facebook profiles operating in Professional Mode, which is typically utilized by content creators to earn money from their posts. Although publishers are excluded from this trial, the broader impact could prove substantial. "Beginning 16 December, certain Facebook profiles without Meta Verified will be limited to sharing two organic posts per month." A History of Retreat This action comes after years of Meta deliberately retreating from hosting news content. Media consultants point out that after withdrawing from publisher payments and restricting news sharing in Canada, Meta has signaled strongly that news is no longer strategic. Media companies previously faced a steep decline in online traffic following a policy change last year to de-prioritise news in favor of more videos and viral content. Although visits were starting to rebound in 2024, it remained down by approximately half compared to the previous year. Driving Verified Sign-ups This latest trial is understood to be a broader campaign to encourage users to sign up for Meta Verified. This paid tier costs from £9.99 to nearly £400 monthly and offers extra features like a verified badge and improved account protection. Meta's spokesperson stated: "This is a limited test to see if the option to post an greater number of posts with links provides extra benefit for Meta Verified subscribers." Analysts theorize this shift towards monetization may be connected with Meta's expensive ventures in other areas, like the virtual reality and artificial intelligence. Could News Benefit Elsewhere? Interestingly that earlier in the year, Meta stated it would take towards a more personalized approach for political content. Subsequent analysis indicated this could have resulted in increased publisher content reappearing in feeds for some users. For example, traffic from Facebook to some major sites reportedly grew significantly in the early months of this year. In the end, this test highlights the continuing struggle between giant tech networks seeking new revenue streams and publishers that depend upon them for readers and visibility.