Responding To Concerns From EU Privacy Regulators, Meta Lowers Subscription Prices Facebook And Instagram

JAKARTA - Meta Platforms Inc., has offered to nearly cut Facebook and Instagram's monthly subscription fees to 5.99 euros from 9.99 euros. This was said by a senior Meta executive on Tuesday, March 19. This is a step aimed at responding to concerns from privacy and antitrust regulators.

The price cuts follow growing criticism from privacy activists and consumer groups about Meta-free subscription services in Europe, which critics say require users to pay fees to ensure their privacy.

Meta launched the service in November 2023 to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which limits its ability to personalize advertising for users without their consent, which harms major Meta sources of revenue.

The company said the cost model aims to balance conflicting demands from EU and DMA privacy laws.

"We've been looking to speed up the process for some time as we need to hit a steady state... so we've offered to lower the price from 9.99 to 5.99 euros for one account and 4 euros for each additional account," said Meta lawyer Tim Lamb, in a European Commission hearing.

"That's well below the lowest end of the range that a reasonable person has to pay for this quality service. And I think it's a serious offer. The current regulatory uncertainty is out there and needs to subside immediately," Lamb added.

But Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems said the problem was not about costs. "We know from all the research that even the cost is only 1.99 euros or less causing a shift in approval from 3-10% who really want the ad to be 99.9% who are still clicking. GDPR requires that approval be given 'freely'," he said, referring to EU privacy legislation.

"In reality, it's not about the amount of money - it's about the 'paid or okay' approach overall. The main goal of 'paid or okay' is to make users click okay, even if it's not their choice to be free and sincere. We don't think changing the number alone makes this approach legal," said Schrems.

Hearing all day aims to provide Meta users and third parties with the opportunity to get clarity on how the company complies with the DMA.

Meta made lower offers to regulators earlier this year and is currently in talks with data protection authorities, particularly Irish watchdogs.

Users who give approval to track receive free services funded by advertising revenue. Companies are at risk of being fined up to 10% of their annual global turnover for DMA violations.