Great Britain: Meta launches ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram

Meta is introducing ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram in the UK. Customers who opt for this must pay a monthly fee of between £2.99 for the web version and £3.99 for use via the iOS or Android app. The offer to choose between free versions with adverts or paid versions without ads is open to users over the age of 18. Meta justifies the higher app prices with the fees charged by Apple and Google to the app store operators for each purchase.

Users in the European Union, the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland have had this choice for some time. The US company introduced the option to remove ads back in October 2023. It costs 5.99 Euro per month if the contract is concluded via the website or 7.99 Euro per month if the contract is concluded in the apps. In addition to removing advertising, the US company also promises to refrain from using user data for advertising purposes for paying customers.

EU responds to "pay or consent" with a fine

The offer was Meta's attempt to strike a balance between the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and advertising revenue as its main source of income. Advertising accounts for around 97 percent of Meta's revenue.

The EU Commission was not in favour of "pay or consent" – so pay or give consent for advertising. In April, it announced that it was imposing a fine of 200 million euros for a DMA infringement. Whether improvements made meanwhile fulfill the regulations is still under review.

ICO welcomes new model

The UK has so far taken a more favorable view of the purchase option. Since leaving the EU, known as Brexit, the UK has had less rigid data protection regulations. The British data protection authority ICO welcomes the new model. Meta, however, criticizes the EU regulation as "intrusive".

(mki)