Greenville library cuts Facebook posts as Meta tests $50 link fees

Residents of Greenville, Texas, are seeing fewer direct links on their city library's Facebook page. The library, which serves a community of approximately 35,000 people, has exhausted its monthly allowance of two free link posts. Any additional posts containing URLs now require a paid subscription from Meta.

Daniel Starks, the communications manager for the city, oversees nearly a dozen municipal Facebook accounts. He received a notice stating that the library page, verified by Meta as a government building, could only include links in two posts per month. Posting beyond that limit triggers a requirement for a Meta One subscription, starting at $50 per month.

More than half of the city's digital communication involves directing residents to information hosted on its website. To avoid pausing updates entirely, Starks instructed staff to stop embedding links in the main body of posts. Instead, URLs are now placed in the first comment. He also created a graphic to inform followers of this new format.

"When you have an official governmental entity that is trying to get out in some instances very, very, important information, and we're being paywalled by Facebook all because we're trying to post a link, that's a problem," Starks said.

Small nonprofits are experiencing similar friction. Bethany English, co-president of East Side Pawject in Indianapolis, manages a page with just under 1,000 followers that helps people locate pet food pantries. Last week, she found she could not add a website link to an event post because the two free links had already been used. An upgrade to a plan allowing 20 links per month would cost $150.

English is considering using dedicated Facebook events or asking board members to share links from their personal profiles, which remain exempt from the restrictions. Jeff Bannister, marketing manager at SparkPoint in North Carolina, described the $50 price tag for eight links as "crazy" and said the return on investment "seems almost negative."

Meta has tested paid linking features for nearly a year, initially through Meta Verified and now as part of its Meta One plans. The $14.99 tier offers no extra Facebook links, while the $49.99 tier allows eight, and the $149.99 tier allows 20. Only the top tier at $499.99 provides unlimited links. Many interviewees expressed confusion over the rules, noting that Meta's help center does not explicitly state that the link restriction is a test.

David Diskin, president of California Freethought Day, was informed of a limit earlier this month, days before an annual event in Sacramento. He was quoted a price of $40 for eight links. The restriction was lifted this week without explanation. "It wasn't until after our big fundraiser had passed that they fixed the problem," Diskin said.

A Meta spokesperson said the company is "testing whether sharing links on Facebook should be part of the Meta One subscription." In an update on October 23, the spokesperson stated that pages must list "nonprofit" in the category section for the system to recognize their status. It is unclear why organizations that use Meta's fundraising tools or list their status elsewhere are not automatically exempt.