Meta considering ad-free premium accounts as a way to manage EU regulations
Christopher Hutton
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Facebook parent company Meta is considering paid versions of Facebook and Instagram as an attempt to abide by the European Union’s regulations.
The company is considering offering premium versions of the service that would allow users to opt out of advertising, according to the New York Times. The plan would provide users with the option to pay a regular fee and not see ads. While there are no public plans for when such a product change could be implemented, it would be a considerable change for Meta’s general business plan. It could also help the company avoid privacy concerns and other scrutiny from the European Union’s data watchdogs.
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This proposal was reported a week after Europe implemented the Digital Services Act, legislation that bans targeted advertising aimed toward children or one’s ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion. It also holds tech companies accountable for “harmful and illegal” content, requires them to be more transparent about their content moderation and algorithms, and strengthens the tracing of traders on online marketplaces.
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Meta will also face legal pressure from the antitrust-focused Digital Markets Act next year, which will require Meta to change its business practices to encourage more business competition and innovation within Europe.
Meta announced last week that it was making multiple product changes within Europe to account for the DSA. This includes offering users the ability to have a chronological feed on Facebook and Instagram that is unaffected by artificial intelligence.