Meta’s New Plan: EU Users May Pay $14 Monthly for Ad-Free Facebook and Instagram or Accept Behavioral Ads
Meta is exploring a plan that could have European Union users paying around $14 per month to access ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram, or opt for free versions with behavioral ads, according to the Wall Street Journal.
This proposal is a maneuver by the company to work around European Union regulations that threaten to restrict its ability to show personalized ads to users without their consent, putting its main source of revenue at risk.
Meta executives explained the plan in meetings held in September with privacy regulators in Ireland and digital competition regulators in Brussels, they also shared the plan with other privacy regulators in the European Union to seek their input.
The plan offers users the choice between continuing to access Facebook and Instagram for free with personalized ads or paying for ad-free versions of the services.
Under the plan, Meta would charge approximately €10 monthly for a Facebook or Instagram account via computers, and around €6 for each additional linked account, the report indicates that the price for a single account becomes approximately €13 on mobile devices, as Meta takes into account the commissions imposed by Apple and Google’s app stores on in-app payments.
Earlier this year, the Irish Data Protection Commissioner imposed a fine of €390 million on Meta and prohibited it from using the old legal mechanism for transferring data to target users with ads based on their online activity.
Meta later stated that it intends to obtain user consent in the European Union before targeting them with ads to comply with evolving regulatory requirements in the region.
The company has now informed European regulators that it hopes to roll out the ad-free plan to users in Europe in the coming months, which it refers to as the Subscription without Ads (SNA).
A spokesperson for Meta told the newspaper, “The company believes in free services supported by personalized ads, while exploring options to ensure compliance with evolving regulatory requirements.”
The New York Times reported last month that Meta was considering offering ad-free versions of its apps for a fee to users residing in the European Union, without providing details about the cost.
It remains unclear whether regulators in Ireland or Brussels will deem the new plan compliant with European Union laws or if they will insist on Meta providing personalized or even free versions with non-targeted ads based on users’ digital activity.
