Subscription to Facebook and Instagram without advertising may fall in price

At the end of 2023 Target launched a subscription that allows you to use Instagram and Facebook without advertising. This option is only available in the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland, but it doesn’t come cheap. If you do not want Mark Zuckerberg and company to have access to your data and use it to show you personalized ads, you must pay 9.99 euros per month And another 6 euros per month for each additional profile. Although in the not too distant future these prices may come down a bit.

Reportedly ReutersMeta offered European regulators the opportunity to significantly reduce the cost of advertising-free Facebook and Instagram subscriptions. Tim Lamb, the California-based company’s director of competition and regulation, suggested reduce the monthly fee for one account to 5.99 euros, and the cost of each additional profile will be 4 euros.

The Menlo Park presentation took place during workshop which the European Commission does with all companies that are considered gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Meta’s decision to offer ad-free versions of Instagram and Facebook in exchange for a monthly fee has been widely criticized in Europe.

Privacy organizations and groups have expressed dissatisfaction with the approach taken by Mark Zuckerberg. And they even questioned whether this subscription model complies with the requirements set by the DMA and GDPR regarding the consent that users must give to the use of their data in personalized advertising.

Those who are against Meta’s proposals argue that the current price of Facebook and Instagram without advertising it is prohibitively expensive for many users. And it could be part of a strategy to entice them to sign up for free use of both social networks by providing their data to personalize ads. Even when they chose not to.

Meta offers cheaper subscriptions to Facebook and Instagram without advertising

From Meta, they claim that the price reduction is aimed at speeding up procedures for resolving any DMA violations that may exist. “This is certainly at the lower end of the range that any reasonable person should pay for a service of this quality. And I think it is a serious proposal. There is regulatory uncertainty now and it needs to be calmed quickly,” the spokesman said. American company.

Let us remind you that although the official prices for an ad-free subscription on Instagram and Facebook are 9.99 euros for one account and 6 euros for each additional profile, these figures increase if the service is contracted on iOS or Android. From these platforms the figures remain at 12.99 euros and 8 euros per month respectively.. This is due to fees from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Despite the possible reduction in prices by almost half, some experts are not sure that this is the solution. Austrian activist Max Schremsthe founder of the organization NOYB – the European Center for Digital Rights, denied the statements of lawyer Tim Lamb.

The problem isn’t how much Meta charges to offer ad-free Facebook and Instagram, but rather the subscription model, Schrems said. It also pointed out that the “pay or take” scheme does not comply with what is defined as consent in the General Data Protection Regulation. The expert argued that even a fee of just €1.99 or less would not significantly change the user’s consent.

For now, Meta is being waited on to find out whether their proposal will be accepted by the European Commission. If approved, it will be interesting to see whether more European users are willing to pay to use Instagram and Facebook ad-free.