In an official post on its website, Facebook or Meta announced that beginning October 1, users will "no longer be able to host any new or scheduled Live Shopping events on Facebook" as the social media company sees the shift of consumers' viewing behaviors to short-form video.
In short, Facebook and its acquired photo and video sharing app Instagram are boosting the use of Reels which according to Facebook will "give people new ways to express themselves, discover more of what they love, and help anyone with the ambition of becoming a creator take center stage."
Facebook however clarified that users "will still be able to use Facebook Live to broadcast live events, but you won’t be able to create product playlists or tag products in your Facebook Live videos." For those who want to tag or publish products, they would have to use Reels Ads which work by selecting the options using the Meta Ads Manager.
But let us not fret more since Facebook said that the Live Shopping Feature was never offered in the Philippines anyway and that "users in the Philippines can thus sell items using Facebook’s livestreaming functions, as it never had the bells and whistles associated with the Live Shopping feature."
As an avid fan of online live selling, I thought that we will not be able to support our local sellers who are using Facebook Livestreaming for their online businesses. The social media that we all enjoy has given them the platform to put up their small businesses and many users have also supported their products such as clothes, shoes, glassware, and more. During the pandemic when malls and shops were closed, these online selling events provided the means for us, consumers to avail products and receive them via shipping companies and couriers.
Facebook has really evolved from a mere social media platform where we can express our thoughts and communicate with our friends but it has also become a virtual mall where a lot of people are able to showcase their products. Influencers and content creators have also made money through videos, posts, and reels which are posted on Facebook.
This leads me to this idea---is Facebook slowly beginning to regulate the platform and charge people making money out of it?