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Facebook's parent company, Meta, is conducting a limited test where profiles without a Meta Verified account could be restricted to sharing only two links to other sites per month.

The Trial's Parameters

This pilot program at present includes a selection of Facebook profiles using Professional Mode features, which is typically utilized by creators and influencers to monetize 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 free posts per month."

A History of Retreat

This move follows Meta's multi-year strategic withdrawal from news distribution. Industry analysts point out that after withdrawing from publisher payments and blocking news links in Canada, Meta has made it clear that news is no longer strategic.

Publishers previously faced a massive drop in online traffic following a policy change last year to de-prioritise news in favor of short-form and engaging video. Although visits were starting to rebound in 2024, it remained down by around 50% 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 subscription service costs from £9.99 to almost four hundred pounds monthly and offers extra features like a blue checkmark and enhanced security.

• A company representative said: "This is a limited test to understand whether the ability to publish an greater number of posts with links adds additional value for Meta Verified subscribers."
• Some experts suggest this shift towards monetization may be linked to Meta's costly investments in other areas, like the virtual reality and AI.

Could News Benefit Elsewhere?

Interestingly that in January, Meta stated it would take towards a more personalized approach for political content. Later reports indicated this may have led to increased publisher content reappearing in feeds for some users.

As one instance, traffic from Facebook to some major sites was said to increase by a notable margin in the early months of this year.

In the end, this test highlights the continuing struggle between social media platforms seeking new revenue streams and news organizations that depend upon them for traffic and audience reach.