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Facebook's parent company, Meta, is running a small-scale trial where profiles without a Meta Verified account may be limited to posting just two links to other sites per month.

The Trial's Parameters

This pilot program at present includes a subset of Facebook pages operating in Professional Mode, which is often used by content creators to monetize their posts. While news organizations are not part of this test, the broader impact could prove substantial.

"Starting 16 December, some Facebook accounts without Meta Verified will be limited to sharing two free posts per month."

Stepping Back from News

This action comes after years of Meta strategic withdrawal from news distribution. Industry analysts note that after ending deals to pay publishers and restricting news sharing in Canada, Meta has signaled strongly that news is no longer strategic.

Publishers already experienced a steep decline in website visitors following a policy change last year to show less news in favor of more videos and viral content. Although visits were starting to rebound in 2024, it was still lower by approximately half compared to the previous year.

The Push for Subscriptions

The new test is understood to be a wider effort to persuade people to subscribe to Meta Verified. This subscription service costs from £9.99 to almost four hundred pounds monthly and provides additional perks like a verified badge and improved account protection.

• A company representative said: "This is a limited test to see if the option to post an greater number of posts with links provides extra benefit for paying users."
• Some experts suggest this shift towards monetization may be linked to Meta's expensive ventures in other areas, like the metaverse and artificial intelligence.

Could News Benefit Elsewhere?

It is worth noting that in January, Meta stated it would take towards a tailored feed for news and politics. Later reports indicated this could have resulted in increased publisher content showing up again for some users.

For example, traffic from Facebook to some major sites reportedly grew significantly in the early months of this year.

Ultimately, this trial underscores the continuing struggle between social media platforms seeking fresh income sources and news organizations that depend upon them for traffic and audience reach.