Meta floats fee for Instagram, Facebook in EU: WSJ
STORY: Meta Platforms could soon start charging for ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram in the EU.
That’s according to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.
It says the fee could be close to $10.50 a month to get one of the products on a PC.
The Journal says the cost for mobile users might be even higher, with Meta factoring in commissions charged by Apple and Google app stores.
It all comes after Meta was fined over $400 million earlier this year by Ireland’s data privacy watchdog.
The company was told it didn’t have a legal basis to send users ads based on their online activity.
Meta subsequently said it would ask users in the EU for permission to let firms target them with ads.
Now the social network has told European regulators it will roll out the ad-free option in the coming months.
A Meta spokesperson told the WSJ that it believed in free services supported by personalised ads.
But the firm said it was exploring options to comply with evolving regulations.
News of the possible fees was first reported by the New York Times, which gave no detail on the exact costs.
