An anticipated development was confirmed today. This Tuesday, the European Center for Digital Rights, known by its English abbreviation noy b, filed suit against Meta for rolling out a subscription option that compels European users to go online. Facebook and Instagram users who wish to avoid advertising tracking must pay a monthly fee of 13 euros, or more than 250 euros per year.
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The complaint from this Austrian nonprofit argues that Meta is employing a strategy to sidestep privacy protections within the European Union. Earlier, in January, the European Data Protection Board fined Meta 390 million euros and ordered the company to secure user consent before monetizing personal data. In July, the EU Court of Justice ruled that Meta’s data processing for personalized advertising was unlawful.
Following these rulings, Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, announced the introduction of a charging option beginning in November, forcing users to decide whether to continue using Facebook or Instagram with ads disabled. The plan sets a base price of 12.99 euros per month, with each additional linked account costing 8 euros starting March 2024.
EU law holds that consent is valid only when freely given. Noyb has described Meta’s approach as infringing on true freedom by tying a choice to a financial cost tied to privacy. The group’s director, Max Schrems, framed the issue by asking how many people would vote freely if they had to pay 250 euros for the vote. Schrems underscored concerns about whether fundamental rights would once again be reserved for the affluent. He warned that Meta appears to be narrowing the space for personal choice in a way that echoes historic power imbalances.
Data collected by the organization for digital rights monitoring indicates that only a small minority, roughly 3% to 10%, would prefer to share their personal information. Yet when faced with a choice, more than 99% opt not to pay. Researchers note that pay-or-okay models undermine the sense of voluntary data sharing and can erode freewill in a fundamental way.
The complaint filed with the Austrian Data Protection Authority asserts that Meta’s proposed subscription is disproportionate and could trigger a domino effect across the internet economy, harming citizens. If Meta proceeds, competitors could follow, potentially driving up the cost of online privacy. Recent estimates suggest that privacy protection costs could reach substantial annual sums for small users, with broader implications for the online ecosystem.
Schrems warned that this is only the first case in a sequence of legal actions against the social media giant, signaling more scrutiny to come for Meta and its business practices across platforms.
[Attribution: European Data Protection Board; noy b press materials; statements by Max Schrems]