Meta Platforms has proposed lowering its monthly subscription fee for Facebook and Instagram from 9.99 euros to 5.99 euros, according to a senior Meta executive, in a move to address privacy and antitrust concerns.
Meta Platforms (META.O.) has proposed to nearly drop its monthly subscription charge for Facebook and Instagram to 5.99 euros from 9.99 euros, a senior Meta official said on Tuesday, in an effort to resolve privacy and antitrust concerns.
The price reduction follows growing criticism from privacy advocates and consumer groups in Europe of Meta’s no-ads subscription service, which critics claim requires users to pay a premium to preserve their privacy.
Meta introduced the service in November to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which limits its capacity to personalize advertisements for consumers without their knowledge, threatening its primary revenue stream.
The company stated that the price model aims to bridge the conflicting objectives of EU privacy legislation with the DMA.
“We have wanted to accelerate that process for some time because we need to get to a steady state… so we have offered to drop the price from 9.99 to 5.99 for a single account and 4 euros for any additional accounts,” Meta lawyer Tim Lamb told a European Commission hearing.
“That is by far the lowest price that a sensible individual should pay for services of this caliber. And I believe that is a serious offer. The regulatory uncertainty is now present and has to be resolved as soon as possible.
Max Schrems, an Austrian privacy activist, stated that the issue is not about the cost.
“We know from all studies that even a charge of 1.99 euros or less results in a shift in consent from 3–10% who actually want advertisements to 99.9% who continue to click yes.” The GDPR requires that consent be ‘freely’ given,” he stated, referring to EU privacy laws.
“In reality, it isn’t about the money; it’s about the overall ‘pay or okay’ mindset. The entire point of ‘pay or okay’ is to persuade consumers to click okay, even if it is not a free and real option. We do not believe that simply changing the amount makes this technique legitimate.
The day-long hearing is intended to provide Meta’s users and other parties with the opportunity to see how it complies with the DMA.
Meta presented the reduced offer to regulators earlier this year and is currently in talks with data protection authorities, including the Irish agency.
Users who agree to be tracked receive a free service supported by advertising money.
Companies that violate the DMA face fines of up to 10% of their yearly global turnover.
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