Get marketing news you'll actually want to read
Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.
Meta is pitching ad-free subscription tiers for Facebook and Instagram to European regulators, the Wall Street Journal reported. In the business, they call this the reverse Netflix. (We kid, we kid).
The proposal comes after EU regulators ruled last year that Meta couldn’t require users to opt into personalized ads through terms of service agreements. Under EU law, platforms have to provide their services even if users opt out of targeted advertising, the lifeblood of most free, digital platforms.
In August, Meta proposed updates that would involve explicitly asking users for consent before collecting their data for customized ads.
The subscription proposal, which the Journal said was presented to regulators in September, could be rolled out “in coming months.” According to the Journal, pricing differs: Access to the ad-free tier would cost about €10 a month on desktop, plus approximately €6 for each linked account. The price of the subscription would be slightly higher on mobile—around €13—to account for app store fees.
It’s unclear if regulators will accept Meta’s pitch, the Journal reported.
Earlier this week, TikTok confirmed that it’s testing an ad-free subscription in Europe. Meanwhile, Reddit recently announced that it will no longer let users opt out of personalized ads in certain countries.