Meta may start charging users $14 per month for an ad-free experience on Instagram and Facebook unless customers consent to the platform utilising their personal data for targeted advertisements.
EU first
It plans to charge users $17 for desktop versions of both Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks.
Meta officials have shared the plan to privacy regulators in Ireland and digital competition regulators in Brussels along with EU privacy regulators, since it would initially apply to European users.
Issues with Europe
The company was assigned the ‘gatekeepers’ status under the EU’s new Digital Markets Act last month.
The Act imposes a list of do’s and don’ts on big tech companies in Europe, including a ban on tracking users when they surf other sites if their consent hasn’t been clearly granted.
The EU has been working on building tougher regulation of big tech in order to protect European users online and encourage competition in US giants dominating the industry.
Price may increase
Meta is planning to charge European users around 10 euros or $10.46 for a monthly subscription to Facebook or Instagram on desktop with around 6 euros added for each additional account.
The subscription price would jump to roughly 13 euros a month on mobile devices due to commissions charged by Apple’s and Google’s app stores on in-app payments.
SNA plan
It told regulators it is planning to roll out the subscription no ads (SNA) plan for European users in the coming months.
This means European users would have the choice to continue to access Facebook and Instagram with personalized ads or paying for their services without any ads.
However, there is no certainty whether regulators in Ireland or Brussels will find the SNA plan compliant with the EU regulations.
A Meta spokesperson said the company believes in free services which are supported by personalized ads but is open to exploring options to comply with ‘evolving regulatory requirements’.
What about India?
The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, led by Mark Zuckerberg, is contemplating the introduction of the plan in India by 2024.
The company has been in dialogue to explore avenues for monetising Meta on a global scale, including India.
An individual knowledgeable about the development was quoted as saying, “While the firm is striving to comply with the newly enacted Digital Personal Data Privacy (DPDP) Act, there will be intensified discussions on the optimal ways to ensure full compliance with data protection regulations.
A pilot for a paid, ad-free subscription option for users in India, following a trial in the EU, is likely to be rolled out in mid- or late-2024.”
