Meta follows Musk

[topr8]

Instagram and Facebook users will now be able to pay for a blue tick verification, parent company Meta has announced.

[bbc.co.uk...]

I wonder if those who complained and screamed that they'd leave twitter when musk introduced this, will likewise leave insta and facebook!? ... asking for a friend.

[phranque]

Meta is clear about what they are selling.

Twitter was a bait-and-switch, turning a symbol of legitimate verification into a paid product where anyone could look like "Elon Musk" for $8.

[tangor]

Facebook exec: "The tweets didn't leave! Look at that additional revenue stream!

There's another way to look at it: Being anonymous is getting more difficult by the day.

[engine]

Twitter is different (business model) to FB and Instagram, and Zuckerberg just sees this as a way to bolster its revenues.

Individuals make FB vast sums of money, and there is very little privacy. User's privacy does not change by subscribing, and nor do any benefits.

Nope, I'm not doing it.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

"You can now pay to have your account verified".... is the SAME on Facebook and Twitter, one is no better than the other just because you like one more, or dislike the other more. Enough division, Twitter is actually less political now, unless you actually look for politics, so there's that.

There's another way to look at it: Being anonymous is getting more difficult by the day.

That's the plan, selling and using personal data is all too profitable, and can be used for political and social reasons too.

Example: [washingtonpost.com...]

That being said - it's easy to avoid. There is good reason for why the elite don't have personal accounts.

*Account closed* - Whatever will you do with all your extra free time?!

[topr8]

"You can now pay to have your account verified".... is the SAME on Facebook and Twitter, one is no better than the other just because you like one more

i completely agree.

[Dimitri]

If this was to "get verified", then it should be a one time fee only... so the trick is to claim it's coming with additional services, so it becomes a subscription.

As a result you can pay to prove you are you, then if you stop paying, Facebook considers you are no longer you ...

[phranque]

"You can now pay to have your account verified".... is the SAME on Facebook and Twitter

the "You can now pay" part is the same.
the "having your account verified" part is not.

one is no better than the other just because you like one more, or dislike the other more.

what i wrote had nothing to do with opinions or feelings but was based on the facts at hand.

to wit...
the Meta Verified subscription (only available in AU & NZ at this time) will reportedly require a government-issued photo ID that matches the name and profile photo on the account.
this sounds like a subset of Twitter's Legacy verification policy [help.twitter.com], which required:

To receive the blue badge, your account must be authentic, notable, and active.

Authentic
To encourage and maintain trust between users on the platform, you will need to confirm your identity with Twitter in order to be Verified. Depending on the category, you will be asked to choose one of the following three methods of verifying your identity:

• Official website: Provide the link to an official website that references you (or your organization) and your Twitter account. For individuals, the organization that owns the website must be Verified on Twitter.
  
• ID verification: Provide a photo of a valid official government-issued identification document, such as your Driver’s License or Passport. This requirement applies to individuals, not companies, brands, or organizations.
  
• Official email address: Provide an official email address with a domain relevant to the notability category you choose. For individuals, the organization the domain is associated with must be Verified on Twitter.

Notable
Your account must represent or otherwise be associated with a prominently recognized individual or brand, in line with the notability criteria described below. In addition to confirming the identity of the controller of the account, Twitter will Verify the following types of accounts based on the criteria described. In all categories, Twitter may independently confirm qualifying affiliation through business partnerships or direct outreach. For each category we may request the following type of information to confirm notability:

• News Coverage: Provide news articles that are about or reference yourself or your organization multiple times in the article. These articles must be from Verified news organizations and cannot be a blog or self-published content. Some categories may require you to submit articles that reference or link to your or your organization’s Twitter handle in addition to referring to you or your organization.
  
• Google Trends: Provide a link to a profile on Google Trends that depicts search history and is linked to the category in which you are applying.
  
• Wikipedia: Provide a link to a stable Wikipedia article about you or your organization that meets the encyclopedia’s notability standards.
  
• Other industry specific references: Depending on the category, we may ask for more industry specific references such as a link to an IMDB page for entertainment.
  
• Follower or Mention Count: If your account is detected to be in the top .05% follower or mention count for your geographic location, it may count towards notability evidence for certain categories.

*Note: Twitter uses a mix of internal signals to evaluate the authenticity of a given account's followers and engagement. We also assess a range of signals from third-party public resources that have been submitted in support of applications (such as how recently they were updated) to evaluate the quality of those resources.

Active
Your account must be active with a record of adherence to the Twitter Rules. This means:

• Complete: Your account must have a profile name, and a profile image;
  
• Active use: Your account must be public at the time of application and you must have logged into that account in the last six months;
  
• Security: Your account must have a confirmed email address or phone number; and
  
• Twitter Rules: Your account must not have had a 12-hour or 7-day lockout for violating the Twitter Rules in the past 12 months (excluding successful appeals).*

*Note: We may make exceptions to the above requirements for accounts at high risk of impersonation or safety related concerns. We reserve the right to deny or revoke Verification to accounts that meet any of the above criteria through artificial or inauthentic activity.

whereas Twitter's Eligibility criteria for the blue checkmark [help.twitter.com] now specify far easier requirements:

Only accounts actively subscribed to Twitter Blue are eligible to receive the blue checkmark.

Our team uses an eligibility criteria on when the checkmark is given to ensure we maintain the integrity of the platform. Your account must meet the following criteria to receive or retain the blue checkmark:

• Complete: Your account must have a display name and profile photo
  
• Active use: Your account must be active in the past 30 days to subscribe to Twitter Blue
  
• Security: Your account must be older than 90 days upon subscription and have a confirmed phone number
  
• Non-Deceptive:

• Your account must have no recent changes to your profile photo, display name, or username (@handle)
  
• Your account must have no signs of being misleading or deceptive
  
• Your account must have no signs of engaging in platform manipulation and spam

The checkmark will appear once our team reviews your Twitter Blue subscribed account and if it meets our requirements.

As a result of this change, Twitter will no longer be accepting applications for the blue Verification checkmarks under the previous criteria (active, notable, and authentic).

it should be obvious that now the only barriers to entry for a Twitter blue check mark are the subscription cost, a 90 day or older account, and a confirmed phone number.
no verification of identity required.

[phranque]

to be clear about where i stand on paid subscriptions for blue check marks:
- i have no need to show proof that i have the means to pay protection fees to one of the wealthiest billionaires in the world.
- i won't be supplying a government ID to Meta or Twitter.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

i won't be supplying a government ID to Meta or Twitter.

You'll likely be supplying a new digital "everything" ID soon enough, and perhaps that's why Facebook is getting ready to verify accounts? To get some of that data too?

If you're unaware, digital IDs are right around the corner and intend to bundle up ALL your IDs(driver license, health card, etc.) into just one ID (one big file containing your everything).

Here is Canada's version - [canada.ca...]

Note that they refer to the ID as a like "going to a party", but, to the users, the party is for those who can access the file for your ID as it contains everything about you. In other articles on the gov site they describe turning the ID into a digital passport for your internet activites, too.

It remains to be seen if everyone will be forced to get it or, if they decide not to, they'll be denied services like people who refused pandemic mandates.

[tangor]

This is just another version of PCP.

(Power, Control, Personal info)

Back in the mid-late 1930s these were known as "Papers, please..."