Facebook parent company Meta will start a paid verification program in the United States this week.
The system works via blue check marks, as we now know from competitor Twitter. According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Verified offers protection against users who want to impersonate their identity and access the help desk.
A check costs $11.99 monthly on the web and $14.99 monthly on mobile and requires you to show Meta your identification papers (usually a driver’s license in the US).
The system has been running for several weeks in Australia and New Zealand, where it was tested and achieved ‘good results’. The Australian program, again like Twitter, boosts the user in visibility and moves them higher in search results. Unfortunately, that part does not seem to be coming to the US yet, because Meta still wants to fine-tune it.
The blue “verification check” has long been a status symbol on social media sites, as it was initially only available to public figures and celebrities. However, Elon Musk, who took over Twitter last year, saw it as a potential source of income and made messaging service users pay for status and higher visibility. Meta seems to follow now.
