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Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) has proposed a plan to EU regulators introduce ad-free subscription plans for Instagram and Facebook users in Europe, in an effort to maneuver around EU regulations which threaten to restrict its ability to show users personalized ads without first asking consent, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The tech giant’s officials detailed the plan in meetings in September with its privacy regulators in Ireland and digital-competition regulators in Brussels, the report added.
Under the plan, Meta said to the regulators that it would charge users about €10 (~$10.50) a month, equal to about $10.50, on desktop on a Facebook or Instagram account, and around €6 for each extra linked account, the report noted citing people with knowledge of the matter.
On mobile devices the price could jump to about €13 per month because Meta would factor in the commissions charged by Apple’s and Google’s app stores on in-app payments, according to the report.
It needs to be seen if users would pay nearly $14 a month to use Instagram on their phones without ads and about nearly $17 per month for Instagram plus Facebook on desktop, the report noted.
Meta told regulators that it expects to roll out the plan — known as subscription no ads, or SNA, — in the coming months for users in European. The company would give users the choice between continuing to access Instagram and Facebook free with personalized ads or paying for versions of the services without any ads, the report added citing the sources.
In August, Meta noted that it planned to ask users in the EU for their consent before permitting businesses to target advertising based on what they see on its services like Facebook and Instagram, according to a Reuters’ report.
Meta’s decision followed an order in January by Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner, which fined the company €390M for breaches and noted that Meta should reassess the legal basis on how Facebook and Instagram use personal data to target ads in the EU.
Earleir in September, The New York Times, reported that Meta was exploring to provide paid versions of Facebook and Instagram with no advertisements to users in the EU, without providing details about the price.
