Meta Platforms’ (META.O) shiny new bid to circumvent European privacy rules by offering a paid no-ads subscription has faced one of its most extensive tests. The company’s ad-free service for Facebook and Instagram launched in Europe this month. Still, on Tuesday, a privacy rights group filed a complaint with an Austrian regulator, saying it amounted to paying a fee to ensure privacy.
Meta’s paid ad-free service is priced at 6 euros a month on the web and 8 euros a month for apps, and the fee covers all of an individual’s linked accounts. But digital rights group NOYB, which has filed numerous complaints against Big Tech companies, including Alphabet’s Google, said that charging a fee to exercise a user’s fundamental right to data protection is unjustified and violates EU law.
NOYB is asking the Austrian privacy watchdog to instigate an urgent procedure because of “the seriousness of the violations and unusually high number of users affected.” It also wants the agency to impose a deterrent fine so that others do not imitate Meta’s privacy rip-off.
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In July, the European Court of Justice ruled that Meta’s business model — which requires users to agree to allow their data to be collected and used for targeted ads — is illegal under the EU’s flagship privacy law. But in a blog post announcing the new ad-free subscription, Meta framed the offer as a way to comply with the ruling. “We respect the spirit and purpose of these evolving European regulations, and the option for people to purchase a paid tier balances their preferences while enabling us to continue serving everyone in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland,” Meta said.
But Max Schrems, an Austrian privacy activist whose challenges to Meta’s business model helped prompt the product changes, said the subscription service does not comply with the law. He has vowed to challenge Meta’s offer in court.
A Meta spokesperson told CNN the company was in close talks with its lead regulator in Europe, Ireland’s data protection authority, about a compliance solution. The company also says that it believes in an ad-supported internet and that its subscription offer is aimed at helping small businesses reach their potential customers.
But NOYB’s lawyer, Felix Mikolasch, argues that Meta’s move still violates the law. He said the European Union requires consent to be the genuine free will of the user and that “Meta charges a fee of up to 250 euros per year if anyone dares to exercise their fundamental right to data protection.” He added that comparing Meta’s pricing with subscription offerings from Netflix (NFLX.O), Alphabet’s YouTube Premium, and Spotify (SPOT.N), priced at around 12 euros a month, is unfair. Since Meta’s European headquarters are in that country, NOYB’s complaint will likely be forwarded to Ireland’s data protection watchdog. That watchdog is expected to decide by March whether to impose a fine against Meta.