Khaberni - Meta tested a new model that imposes paid restrictions on sharing external links on "Facebook", in a move that has raised urgent questions about the future of news content distribution on social platforms and its direct impact on newsrooms and digital publishers.
Meta, the owner of the Facebook platform, announced a limited-scope trial that restricts users not subscribed to the "Meta Verified with Blue Check" paid service to sharing only two external links per month.
The cost of the subscription to the service is a minimum of 9.99 British pounds per month, and it could go up to about 400 British pounds per profile depending on the chosen level.
The test targets a specific set of Facebook pages and profiles that use the professional mode, which provides creators with special features to monetize their posts.
Although news organizations are exempt from this test, newsrooms and content publishers fear a potential negative impact on the accessibility of their content to the audience, as ordinary users might refrain from sharing articles and news reports due to the imposed restrictions.
This development follows a sharp decline in traffic from "Facebook" to news sites, following Meta's decision in 2023 to de-prioritize news content and focus on videos and short viral content.
Traffic from Facebook to news sites dropped by 50% during 2024 according to some measurements, despite signs of recovery during the current year.
This trial is part of a broader campaign to encourage users to subscribe to "Meta Verified", which provides additional account features and enhanced security.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed that the purpose of the limited test is to understand whether the ability to post a larger number of link-containing posts adds additional value for "Meta Verified" subscribers.
