media report
Facebook group Meta is considering paid subscriptions in Europe – but then without advertising
The Facebook group Meta is experimenting with a subscription business model after the decline in advertising revenue (icon image)
© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand / DPA
Stop seeing ads on Facebook and Instagram for a certain amount? The Meta group should consider this for the European market.
According to a media report, the meta group is considering launching paid subscription versions of in Europe Introduce Facebook and Instagram without ads. In addition, you will still be able to use the services free of charge with advertisements, wrote the “New York Times” on Friday, citing “informed people”. Meta declined to comment on the report.
How much a subscription could cost is still unclear, the newspaper wrote. In the past quarter, Facebook alone made sales of $17.88 per user in Europe, almost entirely from advertising. The meta group had always rejected paid subscriptions on the grounds that its services should be available to everyone.
Paid subscriptions for Facebook as a reaction to the European data protection situation
With the paid subscription, Meta would react to the changed data protection situation in Europe. According to court judgments and decisions by regulators, among other things, it is strictly enforced that data from different services, even under the umbrella of a group, may only be combined with the express consent of the user. The New York Times wrote that Meta believes that an ad-free version could alleviate concerns from regulators.
On August 25, the so-called Digital Services Act of the European Union came into force. The new rules target online giants with more than 45 million users. These include the platforms Facebook and Instagram of the meta group, Youtube and Google Maps from Alphabet, the online retailer Amazon and the Twitter successor X.
In the event of violations of the new EU rules, online companies face penalties in the billions. The law provides for payments of up to six percent of global sales. As a last resort, the EU Commission can even block an online service under the new law.
Sources: “New York Times”, recent meta quarter numbersDPA, AFP