Meta Tests Charging Facebook Pages to Share Links, Leaving Nonprofits and Cities Frustrated

Meta’s experiment with charging users to share links on Facebook is creating difficulties for government offices and nonprofit organizations, including a Texas city and an Indianapolis-based animal welfare group that rely on the platform to reach their communities.

Daniel Starks, communications manager for Greenville, Texas, a city of approximately 35,000 residents, oversees nearly a dozen Facebook pages operated by the local government. Recently, the city’s library page received a notification stating that it had exhausted its monthly allowance for sharing links.

“You can add links to 2 posts per month, and you've used them all,” the message read.

The notification directed the account toward a paid Meta One subscription, with monthly costs starting at approximately $50 for a plan offering additional Facebook link-sharing privileges.

Meta has been testing restrictions on link sharing as part of its broader effort to expand subscription revenue. The company says the experiment is not intended to affect government entities or nonprofit pages. However, nonprofit leaders who spoke with Engadget reported encountering the same restrictions despite having nonprofit designations and approval to use Meta’s fundraising tools.

Facebook Link-Sharing Limits Disrupt Greenville, Texas, Communications

Starks said the restrictions could significantly affect how Greenville communicates with residents because the city frequently directs people to its official website for information.

“More than half of what we do as a city, is linking back to information on our website,” Starks told Engadget. “It's scary because we don't know how we're going to pivot.”

Concerned that other city-operated Facebook pages might face similar restrictions, Starks instructed his staff to stop including links directly in Facebook posts. Instead, the team began directing followers to the comments section, where relevant website addresses would be shared.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Elon Musk Says Tesla-SpaceX Merger Is a “Good Idea” as Companies Form Special Committees

The change has frustrated the communications manager, particularly because Meta has said government-run pages should not be affected by the test. Greenville’s library page identifies the institution as a government building, and the account had previously been verified by Meta.

“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,” he said.

For local governments that use Facebook to distribute public information, the restrictions create an additional obstacle to directing residents toward official online resources.

Small Nonprofits Face New Facebook Subscription Costs

Nonprofit organizations are also reporting problems with the link-sharing experiment.

Bethany English, co-president of the East Side Pawject, a small nonprofit that organizes pet food pantries in Indianapolis, encountered the restriction while preparing a Facebook post about an event involving the organization.

After using the page’s two permitted links for the month, she could no longer direct followers to the nonprofit’s website without subscribing to Meta One.

The subscription option presented to her included an “expert” plan costing $150 per month, which allows up to 20 Facebook links monthly.

English co-founded the East Side Pawject last year. Its Facebook page, which has just under 1,000 followers, helps people locate pet food pantries, find donation drop-off points and access information about volunteering and fundraising.

The organization relies on Facebook posts to connect supporters with resources and activities listed on its website. English said the proposed subscription cost would be difficult for a small nonprofit to absorb.

“We're a very small nonprofit, and we want to do big things, but that makes it very hard when something just like having social media is going to cost that much,” English told Engadget.

She is considering alternatives, including creating more dedicated Facebook events instead of publishing regular posts. Another possibility is asking board members to share website links in comments through their personal Facebook profiles, which are exempt from the restrictions.

“I don't know what the fix is,” she said. “I know that the long term implications will be big if we're not able to use it like we have before.”

Meta Says It Is Testing Paid Facebook Link Sharing

A Meta spokesperson did not directly explain why nonprofit pages were encountering restrictions despite the company's stated intention not to affect them.

“We've been testing whether sharing links on Facebook should be part of the Meta One subscription,” the spokesperson said. “We will continue to evolve the experience based on the feedback we receive and what we learn.”

The company has been experimenting with paid link sharing for nearly a year. The feature was initially incorporated into Meta Verified subscriptions and has since become a prominent benefit promoted through its AI-focused Meta One plans.

The subscription tiers offer different allowances for sharing links on Facebook.

• $14.99 per month: The entry-level plan does not provide additional Facebook link-sharing privileges, although subscribers can add a dedicated link page to their Instagram bio.
• $49.99 per month: Subscribers can share up to eight links on Facebook each month.
• $149.99 per month: The plan allows up to 20 Facebook links monthly.
• $499.99 per month: The highest-priced tier includes “unlimited” Facebook link sharing.

For organizations that regularly direct followers to websites, event registrations, donation pages and public resources, these subscription costs present a potential challenge to their existing communication strategies.

Greenville’s experience and English’s account illustrate how the restrictions can affect organizations that use Facebook to distribute information and maintain contact with their communities.

Meta has said it will continue evaluating the experiment based on user feedback and its findings. However, the nonprofit leaders who spoke with Engadget are already considering alternatives as they work to maintain their online outreach without taking on additional subscription expenses.