Facebook And Instagram Users In The UK Don't Want Paid Services Without Ads

The paid Instagram plan is not attractive to ask netizens in England. (photo: dock.pexels)

JAKARTA - Meta, Facebook's parent company and Instagram, announced the launch of a paid subscription option to remove ads from the two platforms. This change is touted as a step to comply with EU regulations.

This change will force millions of users to decide whether they want to see personalized ads or pay subscription fees for ad-free versions.

Plans for monthly subscriptions will cost 9.99 euros (IDR 168.4 thousand) for web users, while iOS and Android users will have to pay 12.99 euros (IDR 219 thousand) per month. However, this service will not be available in the UK.

Social media users responded to the plan with criticism and even threatened to delete their accounts rather than pay for a version without ads. Some users expressed doubts that many would be willing to pay monthly fees just to use social media platforms.

Previously, Meta was fined 390 million euros (Rp 6.5 trillion) for violating EU data regulations on advertising. The company was told it could not "force approval" by saying consumers should accept how to use their data or leave the platform.

Meta later said it would seek user approval in the European Union before allowing businesses to target advertising to meet some of the growing regulatory requirements in the region.

Meta states that their new subscription plans are aimed at addressing EU concerns rather than seeking profit.

In the plan, Meta will charge 9.99 euros per month for Facebook or Instagram accounts on computers. There will be an additional 6 euros for each account connected. On mobile devices, the price for one account jumped to 12.99 euros. This is because Meta must consider commissions imposed by app stores Apple and Google.

According to Meta, currently there are 258 million monthly active Facebook users in the European Union, while 257 million users access Instagram every month.