Mark Zuckerberg Announces Blue Check Identity Verification for Instagram & Facebook Profiles, Despite $13 Billion Loss.

This week, founder and CEO of Meta (previously Facebook), Mark Zuckerberg, announced the launch of a new subscription service.

Meta's CEO, Mark ZuckerbergPhoto byMalcom Owen / appleinsider.com

Meta Verified (currently being rolled out in Australia and New Zealand) is a new subscription service that will allow Instagram and Facebook users to verify their identities with government-issued identification -- earning a blue check to do so.

The service will cost $11.99 per month ($14.99 on iOS devices) in hopes of increasing "authenticity and security across our services", according to Zuckerberg.

Taking a page out of Elon Musk's book (who recently rolled out a nearly identical service for Twitter), the 33-year-old New York native shared the following details, in a recent Facebook post:

[Image from Zuckerberg's Facebook profile].

Facebook has undergone scrutiny in recent years for a lack of verification of its users. In late 2021, a widespread unveiling of fake Facebook users revealed that 19 of the top 20 Christian Facebook Pages were run by troll farms.

Another point of public contention has been Zuckerberg's use of targeted ads and privacy policy ethics. In a 2018 senate hearing, it was revealed that the personal information of billions of users were being recorded and sold to advertisers. Since the hearing, Zuckerberg has been on a transparency tour to repair his public image.

Mark Zuckerberg cheering on an MMA match, at UFC Fight Night 211.Photo byMMAJunkieStaff / mmajunkie.com

Although adjusting internal policies may appease the public, Zuckerberg has had to think of new ways for Meta to earn revenue. Facebook saw a significant decrease in their revenue after Apple released their iOS 14.5 update, introducing App Tracking Transparency.

And, 18 months later, experts are projecting Facebook's losses to continue -- to the tune of $13 billion, in 2022.

Subscription services seem to be large social media companies' answer to the public's desire for more transparent business practices, with Twitter's blue check service reported to have converted 2.5 million users (paying $8 per month).

And, regardless of if Meta is merely a way to earn back lost revenue or a legitimate pivot to win back the public's trust, it's a step in the right direction -- at least for the sake of transparency.

In a public statement, Zuckerberg released this statement on the reasoning behind launching Meta Verified:

“Long term, we want to build a subscription offering that’s valuable to everyone, including creators, businesses and our community at large. As part of this vision, we are evolving the meaning of the verified badge so we can expand access to verification and more people can trust the accounts they interact with are authentic."

Hey, I'm Hudson! I write about social media, marketing, and modern entrepreneurship. Hit follow for more stories like this one.