Meta, the company behind Facebook, is running a small-scale trial where users without a paid subscription could be restricted to posting just two external web links per month.
The Trial's Parameters
This experiment at present includes a subset of Facebook pages using Professional Mode features, which is typically utilized by content creators to monetize their posts. Although publishers are excluded from this trial, the broader impact could prove substantial.
"Beginning 16 December, some Facebook accounts without Meta Verified will be restricted to posting two free posts per month."
Stepping Back from News
This move follows years of Meta deliberately retreating from hosting news content. Industry analysts note that after withdrawing from publisher payments and restricting news sharing in Canada, Meta has signaled strongly that news is no longer strategic.
Media companies previously faced a steep decline in website visitors following a policy change last year to show less news in favor of short-form and engaging video. While traffic had been recovering in 2024, it remained down by approximately half compared to the previous year.
The Push for Subscriptions
The new test is understood to be a broader campaign to encourage users to sign up for Meta Verified. This subscription service costs from £9.99 to nearly £400 monthly and provides additional perks like a verified badge and improved account protection.
- A company representative said: "This is a small experiment to understand whether the option to post an greater number of posts with links adds additional value for paying users."
- Analysts theorize this shift towards monetization may be linked to Meta's costly investments in other areas, like the metaverse and AI.
Could News Benefit Elsewhere?
Interestingly that in January, Meta announced a shift towards a tailored feed for news and politics. Subsequent analysis indicated this could have resulted in increased publisher content showing up again for some users.
As one instance, visitors referred by Facebook to certain newspaper websites was said to increase significantly in the first part of 2025.
In the end, this test highlights the ongoing tension between social media platforms seeking new revenue streams and news organizations that rely on them for readers and visibility.
