Word has begun to circulate that Meta could soon begin to offer a paid ad-free subscription service or tier for Facebook and Instagram users in Europe. The news comes just as TikTok begins to test a similar plan, also for users outside of the United States.
First reported by The New York Times, it seems that the social and tech giant is exploring these options in response to pressure from EU regulators in regard to data privacy and ads. Having been going back and forth with regulators for some time on the allegations of alleged privacy violations from its ad-tracking services and data transfers, the potential paid ad-free service might bring the company some relief.
However, it would take a substantial amount of subscribers to recoup the $1.3 billion USD that Ireland’s Data Protection Commission fined Meta, reportedly for transferring data of European users to the United States — a violation of the GDPR.
At the time of writing, Meta has made no official comment or announcement on the potential ad-free subscription plan. However, it has already taken the first steps in appeasing EU regulators by implementing an opt-out from targeted advertising in the region.
In related tech news, TikTok begins testing an ad-free subscription plan.
