Meta has announced that it will offer an advertising-free subscription plan on Instagram and Facebook in Europe next November that will cost 9.99 euros per month for the web version or 12.99 euros per month for iOS and Android, in order to comply with regulations. European data protection and digital markets.
The company seeks to align with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is a set of rules related to the protection of users regarding the processing of their personal data and free circulation. of this data in the European Union (EU).
The same occurs with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which will come into force in March of next year and which pursues the objective of protecting user privacy and promoting fair competition and transparency. in the market.
Within this framework, as was revealed at the beginning of October, Meta was already planning to implement a new subscription system with which users would pay to access its services without ads or personalized advertising content.
Now, in order to definitively adapt to the new regulations approved by the EU and offer users a version of its platforms without advertising, the company led by Mark Zukerberg has announced an ad-free subscription for Instagram and Facebook.
As the company has detailed in a statement on its blog, this advertising-free subscription will be available in the month of November and will have a price of 9.99 euros per month for the version of social networks on the web, as well as 12.99 euros per month on iOS and Android.
However, as an alternative, users can continue using their Instagram and Facebook accounts for free, but with ads appearing in their feeds "that are relevant to them."
Likewise, Meta has also explained that these rates will be launched specifically for users over 18 years of age belonging to the countries of the European Union, as well as in the countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.
Specifically, it has clarified that this new subscription option will apply to all linked accounts in a user's Account Center, regardless of where the subscription is purchased. However, starting March 1 next year, Meta has announced that it will apply an additional fee of €6 per month on the web and €8 per month on iOS and Android for "each additional account listed in the Account Center." of a user".
It has also specified that, in the case of the versions of social networks for Instagram and Facebook, a higher price has been implemented because "the rates charged by Apple and Google through their respective purchase policies" are included.
Meta has stressed that they believe in "an Internet based on advertising", which brings "personalized" products and services closer to people. However, he has also stressed that they respect "the spirit and purpose" of the evolving European regulations and are therefore committed to complying with them.
In August, the company announced a change in the legal bases that support personalized ads on its platforms to offer users a model based on consent, in line with European regulation.
As Meta has detailed, the option for people to purchase an ad-free subscription "balances the requirements of European regulators while giving users choice and allows Meta to continue serving everyone in the EU, EEA and Switzerland".
Likewise, they have developed that this measure of the new subscription plan is supported by the July ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), in which it was expressly recognized that a subscription model of these characteristics is "a valid form of consent for an advertising-financed service."
For those users who continue using the free version with ads, "the experience will remain the same," with ad preference settings, as well as tools to explain why a specific ad is seen.
For their part, advertising companies will be able to continue developing personalized advertising campaigns for European users who have the free version.
Finally, Meta has pointed out that "in the future", it will continue to invest to create new tools that "preserve the value that both people and companies obtain from personalized advertising", while allowing users to control their advertising experience both in Instagram as on Facebook.
