Oct. 30 (UPI) — Meta announced Monday that people living in Europe will have the option to access Facebook and Instagram without ads, but it comes at a cost.
The social media giant will offer users in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland the opportunity to subscribe and enjoy an ad-free experience for $10.59 per month for web users and $13.77 per month for those on iOS and Android platforms.
The subscription will cover all linked Facebook and Instagram accounts within a user’s Accounts Center. However, starting March 2024, an additional fee of $6.36 per month for web users and $8.48 per month for iOS and Android users will be applied for each additional account listed in a user’s Account Center.
For users who opt to continue using Facebook and Instagram for free, their experience will remain unaltered. Meta said the experience will be supported by a range of innovative tools and settings designed to empower users to control their ad experiences.
These tools include “Ad Preferences,” which provides users with a variety of controls to influence the ads they see and the data that informs those ads. This information encompasses activity data collected from ad partners.
The company says while it continues to advocate for an ad-supported internet, the new subscription service helps the company comply with evolving European regulations, including a recent order from The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
“The option for people to purchase a subscription for no ads balances the requirements of European regulators while giving users choice and allowing Meta to continue serving all people in the EU, EEA and Switzerland,” said the company in a press release.
“In its ruling, the CJEU expressly recognized that a subscription model, like the one we are announcing, is a valid form of consent for an ads-funded service.”
The new subscription service will be accessible to individuals aged 18 and older.
In May, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission issued a $1.3 billion fine to Meta for privacy breaches and mandated that the U.S. tech company cease transferring user data between the European Union and the United States by October.
The fine was the outcome of a three-year inquiry into Meta Ireland’s practices of transmitting personal data from the EU to the U.S. as part of its Facebook service delivery.
