Meta would be willing to significantly reduce the monthly fee for subscription Facebook and Instagram in the European Union. However, it is possible that asking for money for an ad-free service is also illegal.
What’s happening? Currently, the monthly fee for Meta’s ad-free service in Europe is ten euros, or approximately HUF 4,000. However, Reuters writes that Meta has offered to reduce its price to 6 euros, or roughly HUF 2,400. However, this will hardly be enough for the EU.
«The GDPR stipulates that the possibility of a decision must be provided «free of charge». It’s not about the amount of money — it’s about the whole «pay or take» approach. The purpose of ‘you pay or accept’ (data collection and targeted advertising)’ is to get users to click ‘opt-in’, even if it is not their free and genuine choice. We do not believe that merely changing the amount makes this approach legitimate » Leet quotes Max Schrems, founder of the European Center for Digital Rights, as saying. The case is still being investigated by the EU.
What led to this? A few months ago, Meta introduced a monthly fee service on Facebook and Instagram in the European Union. If you pay for it, you can enjoy the two social portals without advertising. In addition, Mark Zuckerberg does not collect data about subscribers. Those who don’t pay are left with traditional, ad-studded versions and monitoring. The primary reason for launching the paid but ad-free service in the EU was that Meta was trying to comply with the GDPR. It stipulates that users must be given the option to refuse the display of targeted advertisements. However, without ads, the tech company is unlikely to be able to sustain itself.
What is expected? The European Organization for Consumer Protection ( BEUC ) already filed a complaint with the competent authority against Meta in November. According to BEUC, the tech giant engages in unfair commercial practices in the EU when it forces its users to choose: pay thousands of forints for an ad-free service, or allow the collection of data about themselves. The data is used for targeted advertising. Legally, the most worrying thing for consumer advocates is that Europeans cannot use the portals until they choose between the two options. They believe that this is unacceptable, especially in light of the fact that the users themselves bring content to the services. In addition, Meta — unlike, for example, YouTube — does not pay anything for the traffic they generate.
