Meta wants to launch paid Instagram and Facebook; version would have no ads

Who has never been irritated by some insistent advertisement on social media? Is this inconvenience enough to make you pay to never see the advertisements again? This is precisely the desire of Goalthe company responsible for Instagram and Facebook.

The technology giant wants to launch a monthly fee for users and the idea has already reached Europe. There, users will be able to pay US$14 per month to use the Instagram no ads on smartphone. The value is equivalent to approximately R$70.88 per month.

For those who use Insta on their PC or even Facebook, the value is a little higher: US$17, which is equivalent to R$86.07. The information comes from an exclusive report by The Wall Street Journal.

Image: Reproduction

How will billing work?

The charge will be made to those people who do not accept that Mark Zuckerberg and Meta use their data and digital activities for advertisements. The idea would be a way for the company to comply with European Union (EU) laws.

In turn, these regulations restrict the display of personalized ads to users. The intention of the regulation is to prevent users from seeing advertisements without prior consent.

Meta representatives discussed the project in recent meetings with privacy authorities in Ireland and digital competition authorities in Brussels, Belgium. Furthermore, they shared the plan with some European Union regulatory bodies.

The company told regulators that it plans to introduce fees for its European users in the coming months under the name “Subscription No Ads” (SNA).

This option will allow users to choose to maintain free access to Instagram and Facebook, but with personalized ads, or choose to pay to use the platforms without any type of advertising.

However, it appears that the measure will still take some time to come into effect in Europe, since Meta has just launched the proposal. It will still be analyzed in order to reach, or not, consent in relation to the processing of user data.

It is not yet clear whether Irish and Belgian regulators will evaluate the company’s new plan in light of EU laws to determine its compatibility.

They can demand that Meta provide more affordable or even free options, with ads but without personalization based on the user’s digital activity.

Understand why the idea raised concerns

Regulators are concerned that the prices set by Meta will be high for many, even if they choose not to allow their data to be used in personalized ads.

A Meta representative emphasized its commitment to “free services supported by personalized advertising” and exploring options to comply with regulations.

While the Irish Data Protection Commission and the European Commission did not respond to the WSJ’s questions, the EU has extended privacy and competition regulations to Meta’s services.

This requires users’ consent before combining data across services and with other companies, a requirement Meta hopes to meet with its subscription plan.

EU legislation ensures that userseven if they refuse consent to the use of data, have access to a service.