So-called "Pay or Okay" systems are on the rise in Europe. First introduced by journalism websites suffering from the loss of ad revenue to big tech platforms, Meta adopted the approach in November 2023 for Instagram and Facebook. In this video, we explain what it's about and why this approach is dangerous for free consent online.
In November 2023, Meta introduced a paid subscription for Instagram and Facebook users who do not want to be tracked. The move came in response to a July 2023 Court of Justice (CJEU) ruling that declared Meta's handling of user data illegal. Instead of asking users for permission, the company now forces them to either pay a fee of up to €251.88 per year or agree to be tracked for targeted advertising.
In reality, most people have no choice but to consent to the use of their data when faced with such an amount, even though the vast majority have no interest in being tracked. This is a big problem.
As this video is being shot, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) is working on a binding opinion on "Pay or Consent," which will determine whether Europeans still have a realistic option for protecting their privacy online. If the approach is legitimized for Meta, companies in all sectors could follow suit - which would mean the end of true consent for the use of European data.
In this video (1), Max Schrems of noyb explains what is at stake.
(1) https://noyb.eu/files/videos/Explainer/PayorOkay.mp4
