Greenville Library and Nonprofits Blocked From Posting Facebook Links Without Fees

Meta’s recent push to charge for link sharing on Facebook has reached accounts that the company said would be excluded from the test.

Daniel Starks, communications manager for Greenville, Texas, manages nearly a dozen city Facebook pages. The page for the city library, a verified government building, recently received a notice limiting it to two posts with links per month. That allowance is already exhausted. To post more, the city must subscribe to Meta One for at least $50 monthly.

Starks said more than half of the city’s communications involve directing residents to its website. He instructed staff to move URLs to the comments section of posts to avoid the fee. He also created a graphic to inform followers of the change. "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 face similar barriers. Bethany English, co-president of the East Side Pawject in Indianapolis, found her two monthly links used up last week while trying to promote a pet food pantry event. An "expert" plan allowing 20 links costs $150. Her page has just under 1,000 followers. English is considering using personal profiles, which are exempt, or hosting dedicated Facebook events instead.

Meta has tested paid linking for nearly a year. The $14.99 monthly tier offers no extra Facebook links. The $49.99 tier allows eight links, the $149.99 tier allows 20, and the $499.99 tier offers unlimited access. Jeff Bannister, marketing manager at SparkPoint, a North Carolina nonprofit, called the $50 price for eight links "crazy" and described the return on investment as "almost negative." He is exploring ways for local groups to share information outside the platform.

Confusion persists over which accounts are affected. David Diskin, president of California Freethought Day, was quoted prices ranging from $40 to $399 monthly for link access earlier this month, days before a major fundraiser. Meta lifted the restriction 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, 2026, the spokesperson noted that pages must list "nonprofit" in the category section for Meta’s systems to recognize that status. It remains unclear why organizations using Meta’s fundraising tools or stating their status elsewhere are not identified automatically.