LONDON — Users of Facebook and Instagram across Europe will soon have the choice to view less targeted advertisements if they opt not to pay for an ad-free subscription, as announced by Meta on Tuesday. This decision comes in response to pressures from European regulators concerning digital competition.
For about a year, Meta Platforms has been providing an ad-free subscription model in the European Union, aiming to adhere to the region’s stringent data privacy laws. However, the company faced scrutiny from regulators who claimed that users were being offered a misleading choice.
In a recent blog post, Meta revealed that while users will still have the option to select between a subscription service and a free version, they will soon be introduced to a third alternative. This new choice will allow users to see profiles that are less personalized, with advertisements targeted based solely on their activities during the current session on Facebook or Instagram, limited to a two-hour timeframe. The ads will also utilize minimal personal data, such as age, location, and gender, along with users’ past interactions with advertisements.
In this new arrangement, historical data from users’ previous engagements on Facebook and Instagram, which is typically employed to accurately tailor ads, will not be considered. Meta remarked that this new selection aims to provide users with more control over their advertisement experiences and the information shared. However, they cautioned that the changes may result in advertisements appearing less relevant to users’ personal interests, noting, “That means people will see ads that they don’t find as interesting. This drop in relevance is inevitable given that drastically reduced data is being used to show these less personalized ads to people.”
Additionally, users who opt for this new less personalized ad experience will encounter ad breaks that cannot be skipped for a few seconds, according to Meta’s statement.
Regulatory bodies within the European Union had previously accused Meta of violating the bloc’s digital regulations when the company offered users the choice to pay a monthly fee to escape being targeted by personalized advertisements. This move came after landmark decisions by the European Union’s highest court mandated that Meta must obtain user consent before displaying ads based on personal data, a ruling that posed a significant challenge to the company’s established business model of personalized advertising.
In a further update, Meta also announced a reduction in the pricing model for its ad-free subscription services. Users accessing the service via web browsers will now pay 5.99 euros (approximately $6.36), a decrease from the previous 9.99 euros, while those on iPhone and Android will be charged 7.99 euros instead of the earlier price of 12.99 euros.