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| Facebook starts charging users up to £11 to contact celebrities | Facebook starts charging users up to £11 to contact celebrities |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Facebook has started charging UK users up to £11 to send messages to celebrities and other people outside their circle of friends. | Facebook has started charging UK users up to £11 to send messages to celebrities and other people outside their circle of friends. |
| It has just launched a test scheme in the UK with fees ranging from as much as £10.68 to contact a celebrity such as Olympic swimmer Tom Daley. | It has just launched a test scheme in the UK with fees ranging from as much as £10.68 to contact a celebrity such as Olympic swimmer Tom Daley. |
| It costs a standard 71p to contact less well-known figures, such as BBC's Robert Peston or Prince Harry's girlfriend Cressida Bonas, who do not have an official army of fans or followers. | It costs a standard 71p to contact less well-known figures, such as BBC's Robert Peston or Prince Harry's girlfriend Cressida Bonas, who do not have an official army of fans or followers. |
| Facebook confirmed the experiment but said it did not know yet whether it would be implemented across the social network. | |
| "It is being tested among a very small percentage of users," said a spokeswoman. "There is no set timescale. It depends on what happens, what feedback we get as to whether it is rolled out nationally. We are testing a number of price points in the UK and other countries to establish the optimal fee that signals importance. This is still a test and these prices are not set in stone." | "It is being tested among a very small percentage of users," said a spokeswoman. "There is no set timescale. It depends on what happens, what feedback we get as to whether it is rolled out nationally. We are testing a number of price points in the UK and other countries to establish the optimal fee that signals importance. This is still a test and these prices are not set in stone." |
| Facebook has been trialling charging at its US operation since December. The trial has now been extended to a further 36 countries, including the UK. | Facebook has been trialling charging at its US operation since December. The trial has now been extended to a further 36 countries, including the UK. |
| Facebook said the charging fee structure varied according to a number of factors including the number of followers and a secret "fame" algorithm. | Facebook said the charging fee structure varied according to a number of factors including the number of followers and a secret "fame" algorithm. |
| The vast majority of users in the UK can still send messages to strangers for free, but those involved in the test can see the fee scale ranges from the £10.68 for a household name such as Daley to £10.08 to contact author Salman Rushdie. | The vast majority of users in the UK can still send messages to strangers for free, but those involved in the test can see the fee scale ranges from the £10.68 for a household name such as Daley to £10.08 to contact author Salman Rushdie. |
| Others such as comedian Miranda Hart, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and comedian Bill Bailey are all in the 71p standard price bracket. | Others such as comedian Miranda Hart, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and comedian Bill Bailey are all in the 71p standard price bracket. |
| The launch of the charging feature will be controversial. Facebook said it was a way of inhibiting spamming for famous people as paid-for messages go straight to the recipient's inbox rather than the "other" folder which receives all communication from people outside a user's circle of friends. | The launch of the charging feature will be controversial. Facebook said it was a way of inhibiting spamming for famous people as paid-for messages go straight to the recipient's inbox rather than the "other" folder which receives all communication from people outside a user's circle of friends. |
| In January, Facebook was ridiculed for setting a $100 (£61) fee to contact founder Mark Zuckerberg. He has previously said he would like Facebook messaging to become an alternative to email. The network rolled out @facebook.com email addresses to all users last June. | In January, Facebook was ridiculed for setting a $100 (£61) fee to contact founder Mark Zuckerberg. He has previously said he would like Facebook messaging to become an alternative to email. The network rolled out @facebook.com email addresses to all users last June. |
| Iain Mackenzie, a spokesman for Facebook Europe, said the charging structure should not be mistaken for a fame barometer. | Iain Mackenzie, a spokesman for Facebook Europe, said the charging structure should not be mistaken for a fame barometer. |
| "There's not a sliding scale based on fame. You can't infer someone's level of 'celebrity' from the numbers," he said. | "There's not a sliding scale based on fame. You can't infer someone's level of 'celebrity' from the numbers," he said. |