Meta will offer ad-free subscription versions of Facebook and Instagram in the European Union, EEA (European Economic Area), and Switzerland, confirming the core of the WSJ report earlier this month. The new ad-free subscription will be available starting next month. meta blog post.

The move follows years of privacy litigation, enforcement, and court rulings in the EU, resulting in Meta having a contractual right (or legitimate interest) to track and profile users for ad targeting. The situation has reached a point where it is no longer possible to claim profits. (As of this writing, however, it’s still doing the latter, meaning it’s technically operating without a proper legal basis.) But this summer, Meta announced its intention to switch to consent. )

Under local data protection laws, the only available basis left for Meta’s tracking and profiling advertising business is to obtain freely given consent from users. But the ad tech giant’s interpretation of free consent in its “pay or be tracked” subscription proposal will understandably infuriate privacy advocates. This is because the options the company is offering here are, after all, “pay for it.” Or pay us for your privacy. ”

According to Meta’s blog post, the price they plan to charge users to avoid tracking and targeting (i.e. an ad-free subscription) is €9.99 per month on the web and on iOS for each linked Facebook and Instagram account. or 12.99 euros per month on Android. User Account Center. It also states that from March 1, 2024, an additional fee of €6 per month on web and €8 per month on iOS or Android will apply for each additional account listed in a user’s account center.

As such, the cost of using Meta’s services without being tracked or profiled can quickly become prohibitive for those with multiple accounts on Meta’s social network.

Even for users with just one account (either Facebook or Instagram), the cost to protect their privacy from Meta tracking and profiling is almost 120 euros (for web usage) or just over 155 euros (for web usage) per year. (for mobile).

As we reported earlier this month, Mehta relies on a single sentence in a judgment handed down by the bloc’s highest court, the CJEU, earlier this year – in which the judge acknowledged the possibility – that “necessary (another warning) that comparable alternative services (i.e., services that lack tracking and profiling) will be charged an “appropriate fee”. Therefore, the legal fight against Meta’s continued tracking and profiling of users comes down to what is necessary and appropriate in this situation.

noyb, the European privacy rights organization that has driven many of Meta’s strategic cases against tracking and profiling, has already — since 2021 — Challenging similar “pay-it-now” practices by news publishers By submitting a series of files, Complaints to data protection authorities.

in press release After WSJ reported earlier this month that Meta plans to charge users for their privacy, noyb founder and chairman emeritus Max Schrems wrote: “The CJEU said that advertising alternatives must be ‘necessary’ and the fees must be ‘adequate’. I doubt that €160 per year was what they had in mind. These six… The words are also “observances”, a non-binding element that goes beyond the core case before the CJEU. For Meta, this is not the most stable case law and we clearly oppose such an approach..”

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), the lead regulator for General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) meta in the EU, has sent us a statement requesting our response to this development. “Meta informed the DPC on July 27 of its intention to introduce an alternative consent-based model that would allow users to choose between an ad-funded version of the platform and a subscription version in exchange for a monthly fee. , users are told they will not receive targeted advertising,” the Irish regulator wrote.

“Meta had originally identified February 2024 as the earliest date on which it could operate its consent model, but on direction from the DPC it has agreed to bring that date forward to November 2023. , we were concerned about ensuring that the changes were carried out.”Meta was unable to demonstrate its right to rely on the legal bases it relied on at the time when processing users’ data for behavioral advertising purposes. will be implemented on the platform as soon as possible, given previous findings to the effect that These include the decisions made by the Court of Justice of the European Union on 4 July 2023 in a case in which the court considered the legal basis on which Meta’s processing of user data for the purpose of behavioral advertising is based. Includes findings.

“Since Meta’s first proposal in July, the DPC has been working on a detailed regulatory assessment of the consent-based model in consultation with other European supervisory authorities. It is being led by the DPC, reflecting its position as a supervisory authority. The exercise is not yet concluded and no findings have been made to date. It is expected to be completed soon, at which point the DPC will If we determine that the way we implement new user services is compatible with Meta’s obligations under the GDPR, we will notify Meta.”

It is therefore clear that Meta’s move to offer users subscriptions and tracking has not yet been approved by data protection authorities and may lead to further regulatory intervention in the future.

You just need to comply with the GDPR, which sets out the conditions necessary for consent to be lawful (e.g., it must be specific, informed, and freely given). Meta is currently subject to the pan-EU Digital Services Act (DSA). This also sets conditions on large platforms when it comes to tracking and profiling people seeking advertising. Therefore, it is not solely up to data protection authorities to decide whether a Meta subscription or tracking offer applies. The European Commission is responsible for overseeing the DSA compliance of very large online platforms.

Meta is also designated as a so-called gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a sister regulation of the DSA. The law also places certain restrictions on the use of people’s data for advertising. The Commission is the sole executive body of his DMA.

Meta is already under scrutiny by the European Commission over its approach to the DSA, and EU executives have in recent days sought further information from the tech giants regarding content threats arising from the Israel-Hamas war and their approach to elections. ing. security issue. But it remains to be seen whether the EU will apply similar scrutiny to Meta’s ad tracking proposals.

In a blog post, Meta said that by offering people the choice of paying for privacy or otherwise agreeing to be tracked, Meta is “giving users a choice and It allows us to balance the requirements of European regulators while allowing us to continue to serve everyone in the EU, EEA and Switzerland.” . But hey, I guess you could say that.

Additionally, this subscription is only available to people over 18, which raises the question of how it will comply with DSA and DMA requirements not to process children’s data for ad targeting.

“Given this evolving regulatory landscape, we continue to explore ways to provide teens with a helpful and responsible advertising experience,” the magazine said.