Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced a new product, Meta Verified, which will first roll out this week in Australia and New Zealand.

Zuckerberg announced the arrival of the new product via his official social media accounts.

The new product is a subscription service that allows users to verify their accounts with government identity cards.

According to Zuckerberg, the new service comes with extra security features, including protection against impersonation after one gets verified.

Subscribers to the new service will also get direct access to customer care support.

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“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,” Zuckerberg said.

However, the new Meta Verified product does not come free, as subscribers will have to pay a subscription fee of as much as $11.99 (Sh1501.87) per month on the web or $14.99 (Sh1877.65) per month on iOS.

“This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services. Meta Verified starts at $11.99 (Sh1501.87)per month on the web or $14.99 (Sh1877.65) per month on iOS. We'll be rolling out in Australia and New Zealand this week and more countries soon.,” Meta CEO added.

Meta follows in the footsteps of other social media platforms that have implemented monthly fees for account verification, such as Twitter, Snapchat, and Telegram.

Introducing monthly subscription fees for the maintenance of verification status has affected many content creators.

The move may also affect viewers, who may be forced to pay fees to access video content on some social media platforms.