Here are the details of Meta's proposed monthly fee for using Facebook and Instagram without ads.
According to reports, Meta has suggested charging a monthly subscription fee to access Facebook and Instagram without adverts. Users in Europe may pay over $14 (around Rs 1,165) each month under this proposal for an ad-free experience on these networks. For the Indian market, nothing has been said as of yet.
Ankush Pandey
Meta has apparently proposed a monthly subscription charge for using Instagram and Facebook without adverts in a daring move to respond to shifting regulatory environments and customer preferences. According to the Wall Street Journal, users in Europe may be required to pay about $14 (about Rs 1,165) per month for an ad-free experience on these platforms. Asian markets like India have not yet been given a name. But if the subscription charge is accepted in Europe for privacy grounds, the Indian government might also decide to move on the same path in the near future. For the time being, this is merely a prediction. Here are some specifics.
Meta has informed the European Union's privacy regulators, the digital competition authorities in Brussels, and the privacy regulators in Ireland of this probable move. This choice was made when Meta was identified as a "gatekeeper" under the EU's new Digital Markets Act, a piece of law designed to limit the influence of tech oligopolies. This law imposes additional limitations while, among other things, prohibiting businesses from pooling customers' personal data across their numerous services.
With the main goals of defending the online rights of European consumers and stimulating competition in a market dominated by American giants, the European Union has been aggressively striving to impose stronger restrictions on large digital corporations.
The referenced source claims that Meta is considering charging users who want to browse Facebook or Instagram on desktop devices without adverts a monthly subscription charge of around 10 euros, or $10.46. Users may be charged an additional fee of about 6 euros per additional account. The monthly subscription fee could increase to about 13 euros for users of mobile devices, though. This increase covers the in-app payment commissions that Apple and Google's app stores levy, which Meta aims to cover.
The "no ads" or SNA plan, as it is known by Meta, will soon be made available to European users, the company has informed regulators. Users will now have the choice to browse Facebook and Instagram as before with personalized adverts or choose an ad-free experience by purchasing the service. According to the publication, it is yet unclear whether regulators in Ireland or Brussels will find Meta's SNA plan legal with EU laws.
