Meta will soon require users of Facebook and Instagram to pay in order to be verified on the social media platforms, following Twitter’s introduction of Twitter Blue.

On Sunday, February 19, Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement in a Facebook post that the service would begin its rollout later this week in Australia and New Zealand.

“Good morning and new product announcement: this week we're starting to roll out Meta Verified -- a subscription service that lets you verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and get direct access to customer support. This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services. Meta Verified starts at $11.99 / month on web or $14.99 / month on iOS. We'll be rolling out in Australia and New Zealand this week and more countries soon,” read his post.

In a blog post, Meta said it would rely on government ID documents to prove the identity of verified accounts, to avoid the embarrassment of accounts impersonating people and brands – as happened when Twitter initially rolled out its paid verification service.

Accounts must also have a posting history and users must be at least 18 years old, the blog post said.

The service would not be available to businesses at this stage, Meta said.

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