Facebook and Instagram to offer paid subscription service

Facebook and Instagram are rolling out a new paid subscription service, Meta Verified, that will grant users a hallowed blue check for a monthly fee. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new service on Sunday, which will cost users $11.99 a month on web and $14.99 a month on iOS. It will be launching in Australia and New Zealand this week prior to a wider rollout. The subscription will give users access to a government ID verification, a blue badge, extra impersonation protection, and direct access to customer support. This comes after Twitter launched its own paid service, Twitter Blue, which provides users with a verified profile and other benefits. Meta has faced its own struggles over the past year and a half, with shares of the company's stock down 54% since its September 2021 high. With the increasing layoffs among tech companies, the new service could be seen as a way to bring in additional revenue.