Last Update: February 19, 2023, 22:49 IST
The company said that there will be no change to the already verified accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
It will allow users to verify their accounts, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Sunday, following a similar move by Elon Musk on Twitter.
Facebook and Instagram owner Meta will launch a paid subscription service starting at $11.99 a month that will allow users to verify their accounts, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Sunday, following a similar move Elon Musk on Twitter.
Meta Verified, which will debut in Australia and New Zealand this week, allows users to “verify their account with a government ID, earn a blue badge, receive additional impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and access customer service.” Will get direct access to support,” Zuckerberg said.
“This new feature is all about increasing the authenticity and security of our services,” they wrote in a statement posted to their Facebook account.
There will be no change to previously verified accounts on Facebook and Instagram, the company said, adding that only users over the age of 18 will be allowed to subscribe. The service is not yet available for businesses.
Musk’s initial attempts last year to launch a similar service on rival social media network Twitter backfired wildly with an embarrassing flurry of fake accounts that scared off advertisers and cast doubt on the site’s future.
He was forced to briefly suspend the effort before resuming it in December to a muted reception.
Meta’s announcement comes as the social media giant, which has been battling financial difficulties over the past year, announced in November it would lay off 11,000 employees, or 13 percent of its workforce – the largest employee reduction in the company’s history.
The layoffs are part of a wave of redundancies announced by Silicon Valley giants in recent months, as the once-unavailable sector faces economic gloom.
There is also pressure on Meta to create a larger gaming space, the world of virtual reality which Zuckerberg believes will be the next frontier online.
Investors punished Meta last year, sending the company’s share price down an astonishing two-thirds in 12 months, but the stock has regained some ground in 2023.
Zuckerberg remains optimistic about the future of Meta.
Earlier this month the company reported its first annual sales decline since going public in 2012, but the decline was less brutal than expected.
The company also recently announced that the number of daily users on Facebook has reached two billion for the first time.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)