Facebook and Instagram users in the EU will likely have the option to pay a cheaper fee for the ad-free experience. Social media giant Meta has proposed to cut its subscription fees by nearly 50% to brace for data privacy requests by regulators.
By far the best option was to watch 0-9 minute videos for just £7.99 per month. In its move to launch an ad-free service, Facebook recently announced a €5.99 Premium as its first package to unlock additional features as well as add linked accounts with a slight discount.
This has raised concerns from critics who say the move violates user privacy by giving users the option to “pay or be tracked.” In this way, Apple becomes powerful. This may go against the EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) rules, where data processing requires independently valid consent. According to privacy rights organizations like Noyb, paying a low price (even a small price) can create pressure to accept tracking, making the information an explicit consent to this intrusion into the private.
Additionally, the otherwise clear picture has been blurred by new EU laws such as the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA). The aim is to partially restrict the data power of major players like Meta who use it for advertisements. The situation remains unclear due to the actions of various institutions across the EU in this regard.
It may seem like lowering the price is the solution to cyberbullying, but the essential “ok” or “no” problem remains untouched. As regulators ultimately assess Meta’s effort, Noyb (a privacy organization) recommends a fundamentally remade process to guarantee data privacy compliance among social platform users.
