Meta slashes price of its ad-free plan by 40 percent in bid to satisfy EU regulators

Meta has long been at loggerheads with European Union officials over its approach to targeting Facebook and Instagram ads. The company hopes to put regulators in its advertising model on the block, which includes lowering the price of . As of November 13, the plan will cost 40 percent less — €6 ($6.36) per month for web registration and €8 ($8.48) for those who sign up for an iOS or Android device. The fee for each additional Facebook and Instagram account is €4 per month for web and €5 for mobile.

The company will automatically discount current subscribers to lower rates. It says it will also ask users in the block if they would like to register.

When they see this notification (which can only be ignored for a certain period of time), there will be a third option for EU Facebook and Instagram users to choose from. Those who don’t want to pay for a subscription can choose to only view ads based on what they see at a particular time in the apps. Meta will also include several important data markers such as “the person’s age, location, gender and how the person engages with the ads.”

These ads are less personalized in nature and will not be tailored to the interests of specific users, the company notes. As such, people are probably less likely to click on such ads. To do this (and make sure this option doesn’t hit Meta too hard), people who choose the personalized ads option will sometimes encounter intrusive ads. In accordance with these will be displayed full screen.

“Such breaks are common in all other services, and are already offered by many of our competitors,” argued Meta. “This change will help us continue to offer advertisers value that ensures we can provide people with a personalized ad experience for free.”

Targeted ads are a major driver of Meta’s revenue, but EU officials have reportedly been pressuring the company to offer a free, non-personalized option in its apps. Meta stated that this would have a negative effect on his mind. Although it seems inconsistent with official requests, the non-skippable ad feature can be interpreted as malicious compliance, as it makes the user experience worse.

Meta says these changes to its ad model “meet the EU regulator’s requirements and go beyond what is required” by the bloc’s rules. The company introduced its ad-free subscription last year to comply with regulations such as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), as well as the strict definitions of the General Data Protection Regulation. Previously it was instructed to block users before showing them personalized ads.

However, the EU has not handled the ad-free paid approach very well. Investigations into the “consent or pay” model are ongoing. In July, the EU said in its initial findings, Meta had this plan.

These recent changes are said to be an attempt by Meta to solve the case, but according to JournalEU negotiations with the company have not yet been concluded. The bloc’s governing body has until the end of March to complete its investigation and make a final decision. If it decides that Meta has indeed violated the DMA, the company could face fines of up to 10 percent of its annual global revenue. Based on its total revenue by 2023, it could have to pay as much as $13 billion or more.

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