On Sunday, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta launched a paid subscription service allowing users to hoist verified statuses on Facebook and Instagram. We know what you are thinking. It seems it is a dead ringer for Twitter’s policies on verified statuses, which CEO Elon Musk has also launched recently since he took over.
Did Zuckerberg’s Meta copy Musk’s Twitter on paid verification features? The latter said Meta did.
A few hours after the unveiling of the all-new “Meta Verified” subscription service, Musk said it is “inevitable” Meta would take Twitter’s way and charge for verified statuses.
The Twitter CEO, who began implementing monetization programs on the platform ever since he took over last October 2022, responded to a tweet saying Meta CEO Zuckerberg copied Twitter by charging for user verification statuses.
Musk replied to @disclosetv’s tweet that said, “JUST IN – Zuckerberg copies Twitter: $12 bucks per month to get verified and receive a blue badge,” tweeting a one-word swipe over Zuckerberg that read, “Inevitable.”
Facebook-parent Meta has recently launched a subscription service, which it calls “Meta Verified,” allowing users to add the highly coveted blue check mark, denoting a verified status, to their Facebook and Instagram accounts for up to $15 monthly as they verify their identity. Meta CEO Zuckerberg announced this on Sunday, tapping a new revenue channel for some of Meta’s platforms that has given mixed success to Twitter, one of its rivals.
“Good morning and new product announcement: this week we’re starting to roll out Meta Verified — a subscription service that lets you verify your account with a government ID, [and] get a blue badge,” Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post.
The subscription service will roll out in New Zealand and Australia later this week. It is priced at $11.99 monthly on the web, and $14.99 monthly on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.
Meta will let users verify their identity by using their government-issued ID cards. The company further said this subscription service would also provide “increased visibility and reach,” enhanced protection against impersonation attacks, and direct access to customer service.
“This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services. Meta Verified starts at $11.99 / month on web or $14.99 / month on iOS. We’ll be rolling out in Australia and New Zealand this week and more countries soon,” the Meta CEO further noted.
Meta also wrote a blog post about this new feature, saying they “want to build a subscription offering that’s valuable for everyone” in the long term.
“Long term, we want to build a subscription offering that’s valuable to everyone, including creators, businesses and our community at large. As part of this vision, we are evolving the meaning of the verified badge so we can expand access to verification and more people can trust the accounts they interact with are authentic,” Meta stated.
