Meta starts testing paid verification for Canadian Facebook, Instagram creators

TORONTO -

Meta Platforms Inc. has begun allowing "up-and-coming creators" in Canada to pay to be verified on Facebook and Instagram.

The social media company says in a release that the pay-for-verification program is called Meta Verified.

It costs $15.99 per month if purchased through a web browser, or $19.99 per month if bought through an iOS or Android3 device.

Meta Verified promises to authenticate accounts using government ID and mark them with a blue frilly check mark.

Users who pay will also get extra customer support from live operators and proactive account monitoring for impersonators who might target people with growing online audiences.

While it runs its verification test, Meta says there will be no changes to Instagram and Facebook accounts that were verified before the program began.

Its experiment with paid verification comes after Twitter began charging users to obtain and maintain a blue check mark and access a slew of other features.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2023.