SAN FRANCISCO: As the advertising-based business model that has long ruled the internet falters, Facebook, the social network that was intended to stay free "always," and its stablemate Instagram introduced a premium subscription service on Sunday.
After a similar move by Elon Musk on Twitter, Meta Verified, a service that starts at $11.99 a month to authenticate one's account, was introduced by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook-parent Meta.
"This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services," Zuckerberg wrote in a statement posted to Facebook and Instagram.
This week, Meta Verified will debut in Australia and New Zealand before expanding to markets in the US and other nations.
According to the company, subscribers will receive a badge indicating that their account has been validated with a government ID, additional protection against impersonation, easy access to customer service, and increased exposure.
Musk's early attempts to introduce a comparable service on the competing social media platform Twitter last year were unsuccessful due to an embarrassing influx of false accounts that alarmed advertisers and raised concerns about the site's longevity.
