Meta announced Monday that from November it will offer paid subscriptions to Europeans to use Instagram and Facebook without advertising – and thus comply with European legislation on personal data and targeted advertising.
Users in the European Union, Switzerland and the rest of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein) “will have the choice to continue to use the two social networks for free” with personalized advertisements, “or to subscribe to no longer see ads,” the company said in a statement.
For all of their Instagram or Facebook accounts, each subscriber will have to pay €9.99 (CA$14.70) per month if they pay via computer, or €12.99 (CA$19.10) if they pay goes through applications on smartphones, said the American technology giant.
This offer will begin “in November”, underlines the press release without further details. From 1er March, each additional account added to the subscription will increase the monthly bill by €6 to €8.
Users who do not consent to the American group collecting their personal data for advertising targeting purposes would thus retain access to the platforms, for a fee. Subscribers will have the guarantee “that their data will not be used for advertisements”, underlines Meta.
Profitable personal data
Internet giants Meta and Google have built their empires on revenue generated by finely targeted advertising using the personal data they collect from their billions of users.
But the European Union (EU) has been fighting for years against the tracking of Internet users without their consent, first with the European Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of 2016, then with the Digital Markets Regulation (DMA) , which came into force this summer. The digital platforms concerned have until March 6, 2024 to comply.
Last May, Meta was fined a record €1.2 billion by the Irish regulator (just over CA$1.75 million), acting on behalf of the European Union, for violating the GDPR. with its Facebook network — the fourth fine imposed on Meta in the EU in six months.
Then last July, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) inflicted a new setback, recalling that users of social networks must “be free to refuse individually […] to give their consent to specific data processing”.
And at the beginning of September, the Norwegian courts rejected Meta’s request for the suspension of a ban on behavioral advertising on its Facebook and Instagram platforms, which earned it a daily fine in the Scandinavian country.
“We believe in an advertising-supported Internet that allows people to access personalized products and services regardless of their economic status […] and which allows small businesses to reach potential customers,” observed Meta in its press release.
“But we respect the spirit and purpose of these evolving European regulations. […] The ability for people to purchase an ad-free subscription balances the demands of European regulators while giving users choice,” he argued.
Subscription plans will only be accessible to users over 18 years old. For adolescents below this age, “we continue to explore ways to [leur] deliver a useful and responsible advertising experience given the evolving regulatory landscape,” concludes Meta.