Facebook is testing the idea of charging some users for posting external links on the social media platform.
Starting this week, some users received a notification from Meta, owner of Facebook, which explained a paid subscription for Meta Verified would be required to post unlimited links.
"Starting December 16, certain Facebook profiles without Meta Verified, including yours, will be limited to sharing links in two organic posts per month," the notification read.
If the move becomes permanent for all users, it would be a sharp departure in the business model for a company that helped to make social media a near must.
Matt Navarra, a social media consultant and analyst, was among those who first reported the shift. He said it is a clear signal of where Meta sees the Facebook platform heading.
"For years, links were the currency of the social web but what we're seeing now is that Meta, which deprioritised the links previously in favour of native content on the platform, now says links will be the exception and that exception will cost you money," he said.
Mr Navarra said if the test were to become standard, content creators, small publishers and small to medium-size businesses that use Facebook to drive clicks would be most affected.
Meta's standard verified subscription costs $11.99 a month.
Mr Navarra added that although it would be naive to think a recurring revenue stream is not a motivation behind the idea of charging for link posts, the decision is more about control over the direction of the platform.
"Meta Verified is only a small amount of what Meta makes in terms of revenue," he said, raising the idea that Meta has always sought increase the time people spend on the Facebook app and platform.
"By putting friction on links, Meta keeps people inside the ecosystem." Some have argued that limiting links could potentially blunt clickbait content from "low-quality link farms", he added.
He believes this test is part of a bigger "tell" from Meta and that in 2026, Facebook will look more like a brand-building social media platform instead of one that drives web traffic.
"If traffic matters to your business you'll either pay, adapt, or diversify away from Facebook," he said.
A Meta spokesperson provided succinct insight into company's recent move.
"This is a limited test to understand whether the ability to publish an increased volume of posts with links adds additional value for Meta Verified subscribers,” Meta's spokesperson said.
A Meta employee with familiar with the test pointed out said that the test impacts a "limited number of Facebook profiles using professional mode," and that publishers would not be included in testing.
All that aside, many large content publishers, news organisations and businesses already have verified accounts on Facebook, so they would largely be unaffected if Meta's policy change becomes permanent.
In recent years, however, companies and organisations that once relied on Facebook to help drive web traffic have drifted away from the platform as it reduced the number of links appearing in user social feeds.
Other social platforms briefly emerged as Meta began to deprioritise links with hopes of filling the gap created by Facebook.
One of the more touted alternative platforms, Post, generated a lot of interest from content and news publishers, as well as ample investment in 2023, but shut down in 2024, citing an inability to scale to a profitable business model and compete with platforms such as Facebook, X and others.
