The ability to opt out of Meta’s extensive data tracking for advertising purposes on Facebook and Instagram is coming to the UK, but it will come with a monthly cost. The company has announced that users wishing to exercise their right to stop being profiled for ads will have to pay a subscription fee.
This new “pay-to-opt-out” system is priced at £3.99 a month for mobile users and £2.99 a month for web users. By subscribing, users can ensure their activity is no longer crunched to serve them personalised ads on their linked accounts. Those who do not pay will, by default, continue to be tracked as before.
This monetised opt-out has been given the go-ahead by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO had insisted that users must have a way to object to ad tracking, in line with UK data protection law. It considers this paid subscription to be a valid fulfillment of that requirement.
This approach is in direct opposition to the stance taken by the European Union. EU regulators fined Meta €200m for a similar plan, arguing that the right to opt out of data tracking cannot be conditional on payment. The EU’s Digital Markets Act is interpreted as requiring a free, easily accessible opt-out.
Therefore, a fundamental right under data protection law—the right to object to processing—is being implemented in two vastly different ways. In the UK, exercising that right will now be a consumer spending decision, while the EU continues to fight for it to be an unconditional and free choice for all citizens.