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.
Oppenheimer
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Brown/Black belt finals
3pm: 49kg female: Mayssa Bastos (BRA) v Thamires Aquino (BRA)
3.07pm: 56kg male: Hiago George (BRA) v Carlos Alberto da Silva (BRA)
3.14pm: 55kg female: Amal Amjahid (BEL) v Bianca Basilio (BRA)
3.21pm: 62kg male: Gabriel de Sousa (BRA) v Joao Miyao (BRA)
3.28pm: 62kg female: Beatriz Mesquita (BRA) v Ffion Davies (GBR)
3.35pm: 69kg male: Isaac Doederlein (BRA) v Paulo Miyao (BRA)
3.42pm: 70kg female: Thamara Silva (BRA) v Alessandra Moss (AUS)
3.49pm: 77kg male: Oliver Lovell (GBR) v Tommy Langarkar (NOR)
3.56pm: 85kg male: Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE) v Rudson Mateus Teles (BRA)
4.03pm: 90kg female: Claire-France Thevenon (FRA) v Gabreili Passanha (BRA)
4.10pm: 94kg male: Adam Wardzinski (POL) v Kaynan Duarte (BRA)
4.17pm: 110kg male: Yahia Mansoor Al Hammadi (UAE) v Joao Rocha (BRA
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
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THE SPECS
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: Automatic
Power: 530bhp
Torque: 750Nm
Price: Dh535,000
On sale: Now
Classification from Tour de France after Stage 17
1. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 73:27:26"
2. Rigoberto Uran (Colombia / Cannondale-Drapac) 27"
3. Romain Bardet (France / AG2R La Mondiale)
4. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana Pro Team) 53"
5. Mikel Landa (Spain / Team Sky) 1:24"
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
John Cena v Triple H
Matches to be announced
WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Raw Tag Team Championship, United States Championship and the Cruiserweight Championship are all due to be defended
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 4 (Salah (pen 4, 33', & pen 88', Van Dijk (20')
Leeds United 3 (Harrison 12', Bamford 30', Klich 66')
Man of the match Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Honeymoonish
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
The years Ramadan fell in May
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
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Indika
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The five pillars of Islam
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
