Would you pay $6 a month to access Facebook and Instagram without advertisements?
That is the choice facing users in the United Kingdom, where social media giant Meta will introduce a paid subscription service to meet the country’s data privacy regulations.
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Meta on Saturday announced it will roll out ad-free access for UK users in the coming weeks, starting at £2.99 ($6.12) per month for web users and £3.99 ($8.17) per month for iOS and Android access.
The new subscription system follows updated guidance from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the nation’s data and digital communications watchdog.
Specifically, the change will help Meta comply with the UK’s “consent or pay” framework, which says users should have the option to provide consent for their personal information to be used for targeted ads, or pay a fee to avoid those ads entirely.
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While Meta will gain extra revenue through the subscriptions, the announcement could carve into its powerful ad business — which generates the vast majority of the multi-trillion-dollar company’s revenue.
UK subscriptions come after EU regulation
The subscription model follows that introduced in the European Union, which Meta describes as more limiting than the UK’s “consent and pay” regulation.
Under those EU rules, Meta introduced its subscription tiers at €9.99 ($17.87) per month for web access, and €12.99 ($ 23.24) for iOS and Android in November 2023.
EU regulators argued that the solution effectively forced users to pay for their data privacy, or not use the service at all.
Despite introducing new data permissions and lowering its EU subscription fees to €5.99 ($10.71) per month and €7.99 ($14.29) per month, respectively, Meta copped a €200 million ($358 million) fine in April this year over its approach to EU user data.
“EU regulators continue to overreach by requiring us to provide a less personalised ads experience that goes beyond what the law requires, creating a worse experience for users and businesses,” Meta said Saturday.
“In contrast, the UK’s more pro-growth and pro-innovation regulatory environment allows for a clearer choice for users,” it continued.
In its own statement, the ICO said Meta engaged with the UK regulator’s push for pricing that will not lock users out of the Meta landscape.
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“During the course of our engagement with Meta, it significantly lowered the starting price point at which users would be offered a subscription,” it said.
“As a result, users in the UK will be able to subscribe at a price point close to half that of EU users.”
The ICO will monitor the rollout of Meta’s new UK subscription tier and its effect on consumer choice about how their data is used.
Meta has not announced any plans for an ad-free paid subscription service in Australia, where it must comply with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), the nation’s ICO equivalent.
While there are no imminent plans for an Australian “pay or consent” model, the OAIC has previously challenged Meta over its data handling practices.
Meta last year agreed to a $50 million settlement with the privacy regulator over the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
If adopted at scale, the ad-free subscription system could make it far harder for businesses to reach Facebook and Instagram users, and cut into Meta’s most lucrative revenue stream.
But Meta claims it will provide “ongoing support for businesses who rely on our personalised advertising tools as an engine of growth and productivity,” while promoting free access to everyday users.
“We continue to believe in an ad-supported internet, which ensures free access to personalised products and services for all,” according to a Meta spokesperson.
Meta would need massive global uptake of paid subscriptions for it to become a material source of revenue, and for businesses to lose access to a meaningful volume of potential customers.
In the March quarter, Meta reported $US41.4 billion ($63.1 billion) in advertising revenue worldwide, comprising 98% of its $US42.3 ($64.5 billion) total quarterly revenue.
Indeed, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg in May declared AI-powered advertising was the future of its revenue engine.
