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2023-02-20 --Tech & Moderator Notes

Facebook-owner Meta to roll out paid subscription

[France24] Lololololo....NO.
Facebook and Instagram owner Meta will launch a paid subscription service starting at $11.99 a month allowing users to verify their accounts, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Sunday, following a similar move by Elon Musk at Twitter.

Meta Verified, which will roll out first in Australia and New Zealand this week, will let users "verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and get direct access to customer support," Zuckerberg said.

"This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services," he wrote in a statement posted to his Facebook account.

There would be no changes to accounts on Facebook and Instagram that are already verified, the company said, adding that only users who are over the age of 18 will be allowed to subscribe. The service is not yet available to businesses.

Musk's initial attempts to launch a similar service at rival social media network Twitter last year backfired wildly with an embarrassing spate of fake accounts that scared advertisers and cast doubt on the site's future.

He was forced to briefly suspend the effort before relaunching it to muted reception in December.

Meta's announcement comes as the social media behemoth grappled with financial difficulties over the past year, announcing in November that it would lay off 11,000 employees or 13 percent of its staff -- the largest worker reduction in the company's history.

The layoffs are part of a wave of redundancies announced by Silicon Valley giants in recent months, as the once unassailable sector faces economic gloom.

Meta is also under pressure for making a huge gamble on the metaverse, the world of virtual reality that Zuckerberg believes will be the next frontier online.

Investors last year punished Meta, sending the company's share price down by an astonishing two thirds over 12 months, but the stock has recovered some of the ground in 2023.

Zuckerberg has remained optimistic about Meta's future.

Earlier this month the company reported its first annual sales drop since it went public in 2012, but the fall was less brutal than expected.

Posted by Frank G 2023-02-20 00:00|| || Front Page|| [14 views ] Top

#1 Zuck doesn't seem to promote Facebook's 'Facebook Market Place' where lots of deals on all kinds of things, new and used, are posted.

Posted by Mad Eye Omeretch7959 2023-02-20 00:33|| 2023-02-20 00:33|| Front Page Top

#2 ^ But police reports seem to indicate it's a good place to arrange a meeting so you can get robbed: "Did you bring cash?"

Posted by Frank G 2023-02-20 07:36|| 2023-02-20 07:36|| Front Page Top

#3 Now you have to pay to give up your search data that they already sell?

Posted by Procopius2k 2023-02-20 07:54|| 2023-02-20 07:54|| Front Page Top

#4 I don't think this business model is going to work out the way they think it will.
They started with a business that runs on stupidity. Now they want to charge people extra to point that out to them. This is where the marks start to realize that they've been played.

Posted by ed in texas 2023-02-20 09:29|| 2023-02-20 09:29|| Front Page Top

#5 It's hard for me to imagine anybody who resents Suckerpurge's meddling in our elections giving him even more money to do that. But it will happen.

Posted by M. Murcek 2023-02-20 09:37|| 2023-02-20 09:37|| Front Page Top

#6 This will improve the quality of the user data that they sell. As a followup there will be $50 a month level where you have to provide realistic pictures of yourself and where you won’t be able to exaggerate your kid’s accomplishments.

Posted by Super Hose 2023-02-20 12:35|| 2023-02-20 12:35|| Front Page Top

#7 You don't think the bots have sponsors who are willing to pony up $11.99 a month?

Posted by Abu Uluque 2023-02-20 13:54|| 2023-02-20 13:54|| Front Page Top

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