After Twitter, FB, Instagram to roll out paid verified accounts

Menlo Park (US): Facebook and Instagram users will soon need to pay to be verified on the social media platforms, as Meta follows in the footsteps of rival platform Twitter.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, announced in a Facebook post on Sunday that the service would first roll out in Australia and New Zealand later this week.

The company said it would cost US$11.99 a month on web or US$14.99 on iOS and Android (or, in Australia, $19.99 on web or $24.99 on iOS and Android).

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the 16th richest person in the world on the Forbes billionaire list.

Zuckerberg said in addition to a blue badge the service would offer “extra impersonation protection”, improved reach for verified users and direct access to customer support.

In a blog post, Meta said it would rely on government ID documents to prove the identity of verified accounts, to avoid the embarrassment of accounts impersonating people and brands – as happened when Twitter initially rolled out its paid verification service.

Accounts must also have a posting history and users must be at least 18 years old.

The service would not be available to businesses at this stage, Meta said.

The increased visibility of posts from verified users would “depend on a subscriber’s existing audience size and the topic of their posts.” Those with smaller audiences might see more of an impact.

A Meta spokesperson said there are impersonation protections in place with Meta Verified subscriptions. In order to qualify, users must be at least 18 years old, meet minimum account activity requirements and submit a government ID that matches their profile name and photo. Subscriptions will also include “proactive monitoring” for account impersonation, according to the spokesperson.

Musk has been open about his intent to eventually remove badges from Twitter accounts that were verified prior to the Twitter Blue launch, but Meta will not make changes to accounts that are already verified as the company tests its service, a spokesperson said.