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Meta, the company behind Facebook, is conducting a limited test where users without a paid subscription could be restricted to posting just two links to other sites per month.

Details of the Test

This experiment currently involves a subset of Facebook pages using Professional Mode features, which is often used by content creators to earn money from their posts. While news organizations are not part of this test, the long-term implications could be significant.

"Starting 16 December, some Facebook accounts without Meta Verified will be restricted to posting two organic posts per month."

A History of Retreat

This move follows Meta's multi-year deliberately retreating from news distribution. Media consultants note that after withdrawing from publisher payments and blocking news links in Canada, Meta has signaled strongly that news is not a priority.

Publishers already experienced a steep decline in online traffic following a policy change last year to de-prioritise 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

This latest trial is understood to be a broader campaign to persuade people to sign up for Meta Verified. This subscription service ranges in price 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 see if the option to post an increased volume of posts with links provides extra benefit for paying users."
• Some experts suggest this move to charge for reach may be linked to Meta's expensive ventures in other areas, like the metaverse and AI.

Could News Benefit Elsewhere?

Interestingly that in January, Meta stated it would take towards a more personalized approach for political content. Later reports indicated this could have resulted in increased publisher content showing up again for some users.

For example, visitors referred by Facebook to certain newspaper websites reportedly grew by a notable margin in the early months of this year.

Ultimately, this trial underscores the continuing struggle between giant tech networks seeking new revenue streams and news organizations that rely on them for traffic and audience reach.