Social hierarchy: Facebook to charge users to message celebs

It has been reported that Facebook is to begin charging British users more than £10 to privately message celebrities and other people outside of their linked friends.

In a bid to prevent spam messages from being sent to its more popular members, the social networking giant is said to be investigating a sliding scale of fees based on how popular it considers an individual user to be.

The Sunday Times reports that celebrities at the top of the scale include diver Tom Daley, ex-children’s laureate Michael Rosen (despite having only 3,000 followers) and a fake account of singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran – and users that sought to contact these at the end of last week faced paying £10.68 to send a single message.

This is significantly higher than the standard rate of 71p, which is what users are charged to contact personalities such as Louis Theroux and Cressida Bonas, Prince Harry’s girlfriend.

It could be worse though; you could be comedian Dara O’Briain and worth just 65p.

The pricing structure is based on an algorithm that takes into account the number of followers that a user has on Facebook. Users will be able to pay the fee online instantly, but anyone under the age of 18 will be refused the right to make a transaction.

The charge has already been rolled out in America, in which users are charged $100 to contact the most renowned celebs.

However, critics have said that this isn’t a move to reduce spam messages, but rather a move to help Facebook increase its revenue.

Facebook said in a statement to the Sunday Times: “The system of paying to message non-friends in their inbox is designed to prevent spam while acknowledging that sometimes you might want to hear from people outside your immediate social circle.

“We are testing a number of price points in the UK and other countries to establish the optimal fee that signals importance.”

The premium roll-out in Britain quietly began last month.