The Meta verification tick now comes with a price as the parent company for Instagram and Facebook, Meta trials it in Australia and New Zealand.

Meta’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement in a Facebook post, stating that Australia and New Zealand will be the guinea pigs of the trial.

The social media giant said it would cost USD$11.99 a month on the web or USD$14.99 on iOS and Android.

But users will not be paying for just a blue tick, the company said the service would offer “extra impersonation protection” improving to reach verified users and provide direct access to customer support. 

Zuckerberg highlighted that the move will improve security and authenticity on the social media platforms. 

Following Musk’s move

The introduction of paid blue ticks comes after Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, introduced a premium Twitter Blue subscription in November 2022.

Musk has said it was “inevitable” with Zuckerberg following Twitter’s way of charging for verified ticks.

The Meta’s verification would involve government ID documents to prove the identity of verified accounts. This measure is being introduced because of the Twitter disaster, where impersonation accounts were booming when it rolled out its paid verification service. 

Meta has also outlined that accounts must have a posting history and users must be at least 18 years old. Additionally, it stated that the service will not be available for businesses. 

The company has also stated that increased visibility of posts from verified users would “depend on a subscribers existing audience size and the topic of their posts”, as those with smaller followings might see a bigger impact. 

Data safety implications

The new paid verification features to protect verified accounts. This tool will allow creators or users who lose access to their Facebook and Instagram accounts, gain access to support more efficiently. 

But the bigger problem in this paid service is data protection. The government verified identification could lead to a risky monopoly of data security. Global cybersecurity at ESET, Jake Moore told Forbes, “While this may seem like a safety measure, it creates potential security risks as the data must be robustly protected from attackers.”