Avast ye landlubbers! Ye can now subscribe to th' Meta EU sans ads, 'tis privacy fer th' wealthy scallywags!
2023-11-28
Arr, me hearties! The dreaded social media behemoth be in a pickle! The scallywags from the Austrian digital rights group be makin' a complaint about their newfangled model's privacy troubles. Gather 'round, me mateys, and I'll spill the beans.
Meta's ad-free subscription for European users is facing privacy troubles in the EU. Austria-based digital rights group Noyb filed a complaint, warning that the model will make privacy an exclusive right "for the rich." The organization is urging the Austrian privacy protection body to halt the "illegal processing."Facebook and Instagram users in the EU can opt out of advertisements by paying a subscription fee. The fees are not cheap, with a monthly fee of €9.99 for the desktop plan and €12.99 for the smartphone plan. After March 1, 2024, additional fees will be applied. Noyb argues that data privacy should be accessible to anyone, regardless of their financial status.
Noyb also accuses Meta of trying to bypass its obligations of protecting users' data ruled out by EU laws. The digital rights group highlights Meta's previous fines for misusing users' data and sees the ad-free subscription model as another attempt to circumvent EU privacy laws.
Noyb is concerned that Meta's decision could set a dangerous precedent in the industry. TikTok has already confirmed testing ad-free subscriptions outside the US. This could lead to online privacy becoming an expensive commodity that only a fraction of the population can afford.
Most people may have to sacrifice their right to privacy due to financial constraints. This conflicts with the GDPR and other data protection laws that promote freely given privacy rights. Noyb criticizes Meta for ignoring EU law.