Not so simple. Meta is asked to be fined for trying to introduce paid subscriptions on Facebook and Instagram
November 29, 00:21 Share:
Meta is asked to be fined due to plans for a paid subscription (Photo: YVES HERMAN\Reuters)
Austrian privacy rights organization noyb has filed a complaint against Meta Corporation. The reason was the plans of the owner of Facebook and Instagram to introduce a subscription in the EU that would free users from tracking and advertising..
noyb demands that the Austrian data protection authority DPA urgently stop possible violations by Meta related to the introduction of subscriptions. They also propose to impose a fine on the company. This should dissuade other major players from following Meta's approach on privacy issues, noyb said in a statement.
noyb claims that the cost of a subscription that would allow users to use Meta social networks without viewing ads and without tracking them to set up personalized advertising is “ not at all proportional”. In addition, they note that if other application manufacturers had the same approach, the costs of users to protect their privacy would increase exorbitantly and for some people could amount to several thousand euros per year.
“According to Google, the average person has 35 programs installed on their smartphone.. If all these apps followed Meta's example and charged the same fees, people would have to pay a “fundamental rights fee” of €8,815.80 per year. For a family of four, the price of data privacy will rise to €35,263.20 per year – more than the average full-time income in the EU,” the organization said in a statement.
Meta spokesman Matthew Pollard noted in a comment to TechCrunch that “ The ability for people to purchase an ad-free subscription balances the requirements of European regulators by giving users choice.”
“In its decision, the EU Court of Justice clearly recognized that a subscription model such as the one we are announcing is a valid form of consent for an advertising-funded service,” Pollard added.
As NV Techno wrote, last month information was leaked to the media about Meta’s plans to introduce a paid subscription for users in the EU. It would cost 9.99 euros/month for users of the web version of Facebook and Instagram, 12.99 euros/month for users of the iOS or Android applications. At the same time, there would be an additional fee for those who have not merged their Facebook and Instagram accounts in the User Account Center ( 6 euros/month for the web version, 8 euros per month for iOS and Android users for each additional account).