Meta cuts prices in Europe to end investigation

Following talks with European Union (EU) data protection authority officials, Meta has announced that it will lower its ad-free subscription fees for Facebook and Instagram in Europe. The monthly ad-free subscription fee for Facebook and Instagram is planned to be reduced from 9.99 euros per month for a single account to 5.99 euros, while a fee of 4 euros will be charged for each additional account. Meta’s lawyer Timothy Lamb told a workshop at the European Commission that Meta will lower the price of its ad-free subscription model in order to end the European Union (EU) investigation into how it uses users’ personal data. Lamb announced that Meta has proposed reducing the monthly ad-free subscription fee for Facebook and Instagram from 9.99 euros per month for a single account to 5.99 euros, with a fee of 4 euros for each additional account. Lamb said, “This is by far the lower end of the range that a reasonable person should pay for services of this quality. And I think this is a serious offer. “There is regulatory uncertainty at the moment and that needs to be resolved quickly,” he said. While Meta is facing investigations from European regulators over its ad-free subscription model and use of data, Lamb noted that Meta’s offer was made to speed up the process and appease regulators. The European Consumers’ Union (BEUC) had filed a complaint. The fee in question does not include additional fees that users would pay if they downloaded from app stores like Apple or Google. In November 2003, the Brussels-based European Consumers’ Union (BEUC), an umbrella organization of 45 consumer associations from various European countries, filed a formal complaint with 19 of its members against Meta’s unfair payment or consent model. Meta introduced subscriptions in response to stricter regulations in the EU in order to mitigate the threat of losing ad revenue.