Greenville Library Faces Meta's New Link Restrictions

Residents of Greenville, Texas, recently discovered that their local library could no longer share web addresses in standard Facebook posts. The city’s communications manager, Daniel Starks, reported that the library page was limited to two external links per month. Both slots were filled. Posting a third link required a subscription to Meta One, starting at $50 per month.

Starks, who oversees roughly a dozen city pages for a population of 35,000, stated that more than half of the city’s digital communication relies on directing residents to its website. To avoid the cost, he instructed staff to place URLs in the comments section rather than the post body. He also created a graphic to inform followers of the new workflow. Starks described the situation as a problem for an official governmental entity trying to distribute important information without a paywall.

The restrictions are not limited to municipal pages. Bethany English, co-president of the East Side Pawject in Indianapolis, found that her organization could not link to its website during an event promotion. The page, which has just under 1,000 followers, had already used its two monthly allocations. English noted that an "expert" plan allowing 20 links costs $150 per month. She is considering using personal profiles for links or relying on dedicated Facebook events to maintain visibility for her pet food pantry group.

Meta has experimented with paid link sharing for nearly a year, initially through Meta Verified and now integrated into its Meta One plans. The $14.99 tier offers no additional Facebook link capacity. The $49.99 tier allows eight links monthly, while the $149.99 tier permits 20. Only the top tier at $499.99 provides unlimited link sharing. Despite these tiers, Meta previously suggested that government and nonprofit pages would be exempt from the changes.

Jeff Bannister, marketing manager at SparkPoint in North Carolina, called the pricing structure "crazy." He described the return on investment for the $50 tier as "almost negative." His organization is exploring ways for local nonprofits to share information directly to reduce dependence on the platform, though he acknowledged that much of Transylvania County still uses Facebook for primary communication.

Interviewees expressed confusion over the implementation details. Some users could post links in comments while others could not. Meta’s help center and plan descriptions do not explicitly identify the link restriction as a test. The company describes Meta One as unlocking specialized capabilities and AI features, yet adding a URL to a post is a basic function that does not require AI processing.

David Diskin, president of California Freethought Day, was notified of the limit days before his annual event in Sacramento. He was quoted prices of $40 for eight links, $119 for 20, and $399 for unlimited. The restriction was lifted the following week without explanation. Diskin noted that the fix arrived only after his organization’s major fundraiser had concluded.

A Meta spokesperson stated the company is testing whether link sharing should be part of the Meta One subscription. In an update on October 23, 2026, the spokesperson clarified that pages must list "nonprofit" in the category section to be recognized by Meta’s systems. It remains unclear why organizations that use Meta’s fundraising tools or state their status elsewhere are not automatically exempted.