Facebook, Instagram to offer paid ad-free Europe subscriptions

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Facebook and Instagram users in Europe will be able to buy subscriptions to use the social networks without being tracked for targeted advertising from next month, Meta announced Monday, to comply with tougher EU rules.

Tech titans now face a growing European Union legal arsenal, which was designed to curb how they do business online and demands better privacy protection for users.

Firms like Meta use user data to serve highly targeted ads, and they have struggled to comply with the strict rules of the EU's 2018 data privacy regulation (GDPR).

Europe has hit Meta with huge fines over privacy and how it uses European users' data.

From November, European users will be able to subscribe for a fee of 9.99 euros ($10.50) a month on the web, or 12.99 euros on mobile phones using iOS and Android systems, Meta said.

Subscriptions would apply to an individual's linked Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Privacy campaigners have previously warned they would launch legal challenges against such fees, accusing tech firms of asking users to pay for their fundamental rights, while skirting legal efforts to regulate privacy.

Asked by AFP, there was no immediate response from the European Commission as to whether to subscription option would assuage Brussels' privacy concerns.

From March 1, 2024, there will be an additional fee of six euros a month for access on the web and eight on smartphones for each additional account listed.

The EU's rules are a risk to Meta's lucrative revenue from advertising since they seek to curb its use of users' data without consent.

Meta's latest decision demonstrates the far-reaching impact of the EU's laws, shaking up the previous free model.

Meta believes that taking this move to offer subscriptions will assuage EU regulators' concerns over its data collection and how ads are targeted.

But rights campaigners have suggested the moves are an attempt to circumvent the rules.

Users will still be able to enjoy the platforms for free with advertising, but the information of those who pay "will not be used for ads", Meta said.

Only people aged 18 and over will be able to buy subscriptions.

"The option for people to purchase a