EU-based Instagram and Facebook users who wish their experience to be ad-free will have to soon cough up €10 for each service (or €16 for both), according to an exclusive report by The Wall Street Journal.
Sources have told the newspaper that Meta, the parent company of both social media platforms, has already submitted such plans to European regulators in order to comply with the bloc’s stringent new privacy laws.
Under these laws, the harvesting of users’ information to target them through highly personalized ads—to this day, still Meta’s largest source of revenue—will be heavily curtailed.
In order to satisfy EU regulators while maintaining its own revenue, Meta is then likely to offer customers the choice between a free, ad-supported plan and a paid subscription as a mutually beneficial compromise.
EU-based users contribute about a quarter of Meta’s advertising revenue.
It is not known if regulators—in Meta’s case, since it has its HQ in Ireland, the Irish Data Protection Commission—will agree to the proposal, as they have not yet issued a response.
Similarly, the European Commission was unavailable for comment.
Earlier this year, Meta was fined €390 million by the Commission, and told it could not use the so-called “contract” as a legal basis to send users ads based on their online activity.
Afterwards, the company expressed its intention to ask EU-based users for their consent before allowing targeted ads to be directed at them.
Subscription fees will vary depending on whether someone subscribes through a mobile app or through Meta’s websites. Since Apple and Google, who own the app stores through which such transactions are made, charge a commission for each, this extra cost would be passed on in full to Meta’s customers, making up about 30% of the initial cost.
While it is not known when exactly the scheme would be implemented, it does not come as a great surprise, as rumors that such subscriptions were being mulled had been swirling for some time.
For now, Meta is not confirming its decision. Addressing Reuters, a spokesman, however, said the company believes in “free services which are supported by personalized ads,” but is exploring “options to ensure we comply with evolving regulatory requirements.”
