Opting Out of Ads on Facebook and Instagram Comes with a Price in Europe

Users in Europe on Instagram and Facebook can now opt out of targeted ads by subscribing to a monthly plan. Meta, the parent company, released an announcement on Monday stating that users in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland can purchase a plan for €9.99 ($10.60) on the web or €12.99 ($13.78) on iOS and Android to enjoy ad-free access to the platforms.

Beginning in March, the company has announced that there will be an extra monthly charge of €6 ($6.37) on the web and €8 ($8.48) on iOS and Android for each additional account listed in a user's Account Center. These measures are being implemented to align with various European regulations that aim to restrict the utilization of personalized advertisements by US technology companies. In the past year, the EU has taken steps to strengthen its policies and will soon mandate that Big Tech companies obtain user consent for such advertising.

The court's ruling in July allows tech companies to utilize subscription models to gain consent, giving users the option to access Facebook and Instagram without ads for a fee. However, it should be noted that users will still have the option to use these platforms for free with ads. It is important to recognize that these plans are exclusively applicable to users within Europe.

According to the General Data Protection Regulation of the EU, companies are permitted to gather and utilize the personal information of EU citizens, as long as it complies with specific categories. Meta has previously contended that their data collection for advertising is necessary for fulfilling the contractual obligations with users in order to provide their services. However, privacy advocates and regulators have disputed this justification, claiming that it does not support the utilization of personal data for advertising purposes.