Facebook and Instagram Launch Ad-free Subscription Tier in EU
upstart writes:
People using the Meta-owned platforms will be able to pay 9.99 (8.72) per month for an ad-free experience. It will not be available in the UK.
In January, Meta was fined 390m for breaking EU data rules around ads.
The regulator said at the time the firm could not "force consent" by saying consumers must accept how their data is used or leave the platforms.
The subscription tier will be exclusive to people in the EU, European Economic Area and Switzerland from November.
But it will only be accessible for people aged over 18 at first, with the firm looking into how it can serve ads to young people in the EU without breaking the rules.
Meta said its new subscription was about addressing EU concerns, rather than making money.
[...] "We respect the spirit and purpose of these evolving European regulations, and are committed to complying with them."
Users will be given the choice either to continue using the platforms for free - and have their data collected - or to pay and completely opt out of targeted ads by removing them.
[...] The announcement comes after Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, introduced an ad-free Premium+ service priced at 16 per month.
[...] TikTok has also been testing a monthly subscription to remove ads - priced at $4.99 - but there is no indication yet that this will be rolled out globally.
Also at WSJ, The Hacker News
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