To address stricter EU privacy regulations, Meta Platforms proposes a subscription model for European users to access ad-free versions of Instagram and Facebook. Prices for mobile-only Instagram reach nearly $14/month.
Would European users shell out nearly $14 monthly for an ad-free Instagram experience on their phones? Or perhaps almost $17 monthly for a combined ad-free Instagram and Facebook on their desktops? These are the price points Meta Platforms is reportedly proposing to European regulators for monthly subscriptions, offering an alternative to consenting to the company’s use of their digital activity for targeted advertising.
This proposal represents a significant strategic move by the social media giant as it navigates increasingly stringent European Union regulations. These rules threaten to curtail Meta’s ability to display personalized advertisements without explicit user consent, directly jeopardizing its primary revenue stream.
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Meta officials shared details of this plan, internally dubbed “SNA” (subscription no ads), during September meetings with privacy regulators in Ireland and digital-competition authorities in Brussels. The proposal has also been circulated among other EU privacy regulators for feedback.
According to sources familiar with the proposal, Meta intends to roll out this option for European users in the coming months. This would give users a choice: continue accessing Instagram and Facebook for free with personalized ads or opt for paid, ad-free versions of the platforms.
Meta has indicated to regulators that the proposed changes would be approximately €10 per month (roughly $10.50) for a single Facebook or Instagram account on the desktop. Each additional linked account would incur an extra charge of around €6. However, the cost would be roughly €13 per month on mobile devices, factoring in the commissions levied by Apple’s and Google’s app stores on in-app payments.
Introducing a subscription option for its core services marks a notable shift for Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has long championed keeping these services free, supported by advertising, to ensure accessibility for users across all income brackets.
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Zuckerberg stated at a 2018 conference, “You don’t need thousands of dollars to connect with people who use our services,” in a veiled jab at Apple. Conversely, Apple CEO Tim Cook has criticized what he termed the “data industrial complex.”
However, privacy-conscious users in the U.S. should not anticipate a similar ad-free option for Instagram or Facebook in the near future. Meta’s proposals are specifically designed to address the demands of EU regulators regarding consent for personalized advertising.
While Zuckerberg has previously expressed openness to a paid service model in response to heightened privacy scrutiny, this move also coincides with a broader tech industry trend towards subscription-based models, as seen with platforms like Snapchat and X (formerly Twitter) and Meta’s recent introduction of a paid user-verification service.
The critical question remains whether regulators in Ireland or Brussels will deem this proposed plan compliant with EU laws. They may insist on cheaper or even free versions that feature non-personalized ads and are not reliant on user activity data.
According to sources, one potential sticking point for regulators is whether Meta’s proposed pricing will render the ad-free option prohibitively expensive for most users, even those who object to their data being used for ad targeting.
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A Meta spokesperson stated that the company believes in “free services which are supported by personalized ads” but is exploring “options to ensure we comply with evolving regulatory requirements.” Representatives for Ireland’s Data Protection Commission and the European Commission declined to comment immediately.
The specifics of Meta’s proposal, including pricing and timing, were previously unreported. However, The New York Times had reported on Meta’s consideration of ad-free versions for a fee last month.
The driving force behind Meta’s proposal is the increasing pressure from privacy regulators, spearheaded by Ireland, to mandate explicit user consent before displaying behavioral ads targeting user activity data. In response, Meta had previously offered to seek such consent by the end of October.
Furthermore, the EU’s executive arm recently declared that Instagram, Facebook, and Meta’s advertising network would fall under the purview of the Digital Markets Act, the bloc’s new digital competition law. This law necessitates user consent before combining user data across its services or with data from other companies.
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Meta hopes its subscription plan can satisfy the requirements of both sets of regulations. Under the EU law, users who decline to consent to certain data usage must still be able to access the service.
Meta’s reported overall revenue per Facebook user in Europe in the second quarter was roughly $17.88, or just under $6 per user across all its apps on average per month. However, the actual average revenue per month for EU users is likely somewhat higher, as Meta’s broader European region includes non-EU countries like Turkey and Russia, where lower revenue figures may skew the average. Meta estimates there will be 258 million monthly Facebook users and 257 million Instagram users in the EU for the year’s first half.
The push towards a subscription service has intensified by stricter EU rules enforcement. A July ruling by the bloc’s top court stipulated that Meta requires consent for specific types of targeted ads based on users’ online activity, prompting Irish privacy regulators to demand changes to Meta’s practices.
Norway’s privacy regulator, seeking a swifter resolution, ordered Meta in July to suspend its activity-based targeted ads in the country. Last week, the Norwegian regulator requested a board of all EU regulators to extend this ban across the entire bloc, a move that would likely face legal challenges if approved.
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In advocating for its plan, Meta has drawn parallels to other companies like Spotify, which offer users a choice between a free, ad-supported service and an ad-free subscription. Meta’s proposed mobile pricing is comparable to YouTube’s ad-free premium European service.
The company has also highlighted a passage in the July EU court decision stating that social media companies could charge a “reasonable fee” to users who decline to have their data used for certain ad-targeting purposes, interpreting this as an endorsement for a subscription-based model.
