Meta is ready to reduce subscription fees for Facebook and Instagram without advertising from 10 euros to 6 euros per month. This reduction is intended to address the concerns of civil rights movements and regulators. For any additional account, users will have to pay an additional 4 euros per month.
Tim Lamb, a lawyer at Meta, told a European Commission hearing on Tuesday, Reuters news agency reports (1).
Late last year, Meta introduced the subscription model for Facebook and Instagram (2). Users who are annoyed that the parent company collects and sells customer data to third parties for targeted ads can take out a subscription. Facebook and Instagram users will then no longer see advertisements on their accounts. To do so, they pay a monthly fee of 9.99 euros for the web version, or 12.99 euros for those who use the apps on their smartphones and tablets. Those who do not feel like paying for Facebook and Instagram must accept that Meta collects personal data and shows targeted ads on their accounts.
The Facebook and Instagram subscription has been active in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland since November.
The American tech company faced considerable criticism for its new revenue model. Many find it unacceptable that people have to pay for privacy. Sandra Molenaar, director of the Consumers Union, thinks Meta is misleading customers. "Meta misleads consumers by pretending there is a choice between a paid and a free option. While consumers in the free option are in fact paying with their data. There are very clear court decisions that say this form of data processing is also a form of payment," Molenaar said.
She also commented on how customers are forced to make a choice. "Meta denies users access to its platforms until they make a choice. This is aggressive and a form of coercion. As a result, consumers may feel forced to make a choice they don't really want to make at all. They shouldn't. Besides, where should they go? Instagram and Facebook are so dominant. There is no alternative. Consumers have no real choice. That makes it unfair."
Along with 19 other European consumer organizations, the Consumers' Association filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPCN), a European alliance of consumer law regulators. Consumer umbrella organization BEUC is investigating whether or not Meta is violating European privacy laws with its revenue model. 28 NGOs recently called for the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) to vigorously oppose Meta's "Pay or Okay" subscription (3).
According to Meta's lawyer Tim Lamb, Meta has heard the criticism and is taking it seriously. He says the technology company's revenue model attempts to balance the conflicting requirements of European privacy laws with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
"We have wanted to speed up that process for some time because we want to achieve a stable situation. That is why we have offered to lower the price from 9.99 euros to 5.99 euros for a single account and 4 euros for any additional accounts," Lamb told a European Commission hearing.
Max Schrems, president of the Austrian privacy foundation Noyb, does not think that reducing subscription fees is the solution to the situation. "In reality, it's not about the amount of money: it's about the 'Pay or Okay' approach as a whole. The whole purpose of 'Pay or Okay' model is to get users to press Okay even if it is not their free and true choice," he told Reuters.
Earlier, Schrems expressed concerns about Meta's subscription model. He fears that privacy is no longer a fundamental right, but a luxury good because not everyone can or wants to pay the subscription fee. Furthermore, the Noyb chairman fears that if one sheep has crossed the dam, several will follow. "Europeans use websites and apps from hundreds of companies every month. All of them could charge a 'privacy fee' if they do not agree to have their data collected and sold. If you do the math, this could add up to thousands of euros a year."
(1) https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-offers-cut-facebook-instagram-monthly-fees-599-euros-2024-03-19/
(2) https://www.vpngids.nl/nieuws/meta-onthult-plannen-voor-reclamevrije-abonnementen/
(3) https://noyb.eu/nl/28-ngos-urge-eu-dpas-reject-pay-or-okay-meta
