EU privacy rules may force Meta to offer subscription options for its apps
Tuesday, October 3, 2023 at 10:17PM 
Meta might charge European Instagram users US$14 (around CA$19) per month to avoid targeted ads. It could also offer a US$17 (~CA$23) monthly fee for ad-free Facebook and Instagram on desktop. Meta reportedly plans to force subscriptions on users who reject ad tracking, based on their personal data. This is in response to a court ruling that Facebook must get users’ consent to access their data.
The court also urged companies to consider subscription models. The numbers The Wall Street Journal shared are slightly lower than Netflix’s EU monthly plan. But Meta could lose regular users who don’t want to pay or accept targeted ads.
Earlier this year, the EU fined Facebook €1.2 billion (CA$1.7 billion) for violating its digital privacy rules. The rules will get stricter with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations in March 2024. Meta makes about a quarter of its revenue in Europe. It hasn’t launched its Twitter rival, Threads, in Europe due to the DMA uncertainty. Meta’s plans for its EU apps will become clearer before the new rules take effect.
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