Meta Platforms’ paid no-ads subscription service launched in Europe this month faced one of its biggest tests as advocacy group NOYB yesterday filed a complaint with an Austrian regulator, saying that it amounted to paying a fee to ensure privacy.
Meta announced the service for Facebook and Instagram last month. It said the move complied with EU rules that users must be given a choice on whether their data can be collected and used for targeted ads, Reuters reported.
The ad-free service costs 9.99 euros ($10.90) monthly for web users and 12.99 euros for iOS and Android users. Meta has said that a subscription model is a valid form of consent for an advertising-funded service and was in line with a July ruling from Europe’s top court. Users can opt for a free, ad-supported service.
Vienna-based NOYB (None Of Your Business), the digital rights group founded by privacy activist Max Schrems, said it disagreed with Meta on the concept of consent.
“EU law requires that consent is the genuine free will of the user. Contrary to this law, Meta charges a ‘privacy fee’ of up to 250 euros per year if anyone dares to exercise their fundamental right to data protection,” NOYB data protection lawyer Felix Mikolasch said in a statement.
NOYB filed the complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority. It also criticized the amount of the fee.
A Meta spokesperson pointed out that the pricing was in line with similar subscription offerings in Europe.
Netflix charges 7.99 euros for a basic subscription plan, while Alphabet’s YouTube Premium costs about 12 euros and Spotify’s Premium service is priced at about 11 euros.
The complaint will likely be forwarded to the Irish data protection watchdog which oversees Meta because it has its European headquarters in Ireland.