Facebook charges are dangerous myth

The rumor that Facebook will charge its users has been debunked.

Snopes.com decided persistent rumors that Facebook will start charging later this year are false and the protest pages on the site are unsafe.

"The claim that Facebook would be initiating user charges was but the bait to lure people to the protest page and its hidden malicious payload," according to the website. "There are no plans afoot to require payment from those who use the site."

Snopes gave details that revealed the protest pages complaining about the Facebook charges are just being used to infiltrate a computer.

"The protest page was a trap for the unwary. Some of those who did venture a click had their computers taken over by a series of highly objectionable images while malware simultaneously attempted to install itself onto their computers," according to the Snopes website.

Chief Operating Officer for Facebook Sheryl Sandberg explained in a Business Week interview the rumor that Facebook would start charging comes from its increasing number of users.

"[It] stems from people thinking we're growing so quickly, we're running out of money," Sandberg said. "We're growing really quickly, but we can finance that growth. We're not going to charge for our basic services."

Senior Taylor Renee said she thinks Facebook would have made a mistake if it really had been considering charging its users.

"The website would most likely lose a lot of its users," Renee said. "Everyone would just move on to some other site that was free. Personally, I would just text my close friends to stay in contact."

Senior John Taylor suggested the loss of free services on Facebook would generate the need for a new place for users to go.

"I think someone would be smart enough to create a new site," Taylor said. "It would be a smart move on their behalf because they could pick up all of the old Facebook users and create a strong base."

Other rumors indicate that Zynga, the creator of FarmVille, will start charging a subscription fee starting on April Fools' Day in order for users to continue playing an expanded version of the game. This rumor was declared false by a Zynga representative.