October 31, 2023Newsroom Privacy / Online Security
Meta on Monday announced plans to offer an ad-free option to access Facebook and Instagram for users in the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland to comply with “evolving” data protection regulations in the region. Announced the plan.
The ad-free subscription, which costs €9.99/month on the web or €12.99/month on iOS and Android, is expected to be officially available next month. The company’s proposal for a subscription version of its service was first reported by The Wall Street Journal earlier this month.
The company said, “In November, we will offer people who use Facebook or Instagram and live in these regions the option to continue using these personalized services for free with ads or to subscribe to stop seeing ads. “
“While people have subscribed, their information will not be used for advertisements.”
While the fee covers all linked accounts for a user, starting on March 1, 2024, the company plans to introduce additional fees – €6/month on the web and €8/month on iOS or Android – User’s Account Center for each additional account listed.
The concession comes after the tech giant was fined €390 million in January over violations of Europe’s key privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation.
In particular, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) found that in order for users to gain access to Meta’s digital real estate, they had no choice but to accept the terms of service and were therefore unable to monitor their online activity. You agree to allow targeted advertising based on.
In August 2023, Meta said it intended to switch to a consent-based approach, giving users the option to decline its behavioral advertising practices.
Meta also cited a July ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) that its subscription model is “a legitimate form of consent to an advertising funded service”, which ruled that online platforms were an equivalent alternative. Can offer. For a reasonable fee” which is “not accompanied by such data processing operations.”
Coinciding with the development, Meta said it will temporarily stop showing any ads to users under the age of 18 from November 6, 2023 in regions where ad-free subscriptions are available.
“The option for people to purchase a subscription without ads balances the requirements of European regulators while giving users choice and allows Meta to continue serving everyone in the EU, EEA and Switzerland,” the company said.
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