Critics round on Meta for subscription price drop offer

facebook metaMeta’s proposal to drop the price of its subscription service in the EU – which sees Facebook and Instagram users pay a premium to go ad free – to placate critics has been dismissed by Max Schrems’ backed privacy group NOYB, amid claims it does not change a thing.

Meta’s lawyer Tim Lamb revealed the detail at a workshop in Brussels last week to discuss its approach to complying with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, offering to almost halve the cost from €9.99 per month per Facebook or Instagram account, to €5.99 (and with a slightly reduced monthly fee per each additional account).

According to Reuters, Lamb said: “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.” The reduced offer was made to regulators earlier this year.

Concerns over ad-free subscription services were first aired back in November, when NOYB filed a complaint with the Austrian data protection authority over Meta’s scheme for Facebook and Instagram.

At the time, Schrems said: “Fundamental rights are usually available to everyone. There were times when [they] were reserved for the rich. It seems Meta wants to take us back more than 100 years. It’s neither smart nor legal – it’s just pitiful how Meta continues to ignore EU law.”

Last month, the organisation was joined by 27 other civil rights groups in calling for the European Data Protection Board – the top governing body in the EU – to issue a binding opinion on the matter.

While the UK is not involved because Meta’s subscription service is not available here, other publishers are launching similar services and the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office is currently consulting on the legality of the plans.

The Irish Data Protection Commission, which governs Meta in the EU, declined to comment on the price cut but Schrems was in little doubt. He said: “A lower price doesn’t lead to compliance. Meta’s announcement that doesn’t change this fact.

“We know from all research that even a fee of just €1.99 or less leads to a shift in consent from 3-10% that genuinely want advertisement to 99.9% that still click yes.

“The GDPR requires that consent must be ‘freely’ given. In reality it is not about the amount of money — it is about the ‘pay or okay’ approach as a whole. The entire purpose of ‘pay or okay’ is to get users to click on okay, even if this is not their free and genuine choice. We do not think the mere change of the amount makes this approach legal.”

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