Following discussions with privacy regulatory authorities, Meta Group, on Tuesday March 19, proposed to drop the price of monthly subscriptions for Facebook and Instagram from 9.99 euros to 5.99 euros, according to the Reuters agency.
Since November 2023, the company has offered European users of its two main social networks the choice to continue using these services for free by agreeing to provide their personal data for targeted advertising purposes or to pay a subscription to no longer see any ads. . According to Meta Group, offering this choice allows it to comply with European regulations on the processing of personal data, which limit its ability to personalize advertisements for users without their consent. Which directly affects its main source of income.
However, criticism has mounted against this new formula, accusing it of making users pay to protect their privacy. Two complaints have been filed in recent months, one by the Austrian non-governmental organization None of Your Business (NOYB), the other by a group of consumer associations from eight different countries. As part of both processes, the American group is accused of violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Recently, on Friday 15 March, 39 MEPs returned to this paid option in an open letter addressed to Meta: “ We urge your business to abandon the “pay or ok” model and align with the principles of the GDPR, respecting the fundamental rights of EU citizens. »
Lowering the subscription price for Meta is one way to respond to these criticisms. “Therefore we propose to reduce the price from 9.99 euros to 5.99 euros for one account and 4 euros for any additional account”Meta’s lawyer Tim Lamb said during a hearing at the European Commission on Tuesday. “This is, by far, the lowest price in the range that any reasonable person should pay for services of this quality”He added, according to Politico. a “Serious Offer”According to him, that will allow “to speed up the process”.
“Actually, it has nothing to do with money, the problem is full pay or the right attitude, Activist Max Schrems, head of the NOYB organization, responded to the Reuters agency. We do not believe that simply changing the price will legitimize this approach. » According to the European Data Protection Board, an organization that brings together all European personal data polices, like the National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties in France, it must issue an opinion on Meta’s new paid model in the coming days. Politico.
