Meta is considering a subscription option for UK Facebook users after it agreed to stop targeting a campaigner with adverts based on her personal data.
The technology company said the social network it owns and Instagram were “free for British consumers because of personalised advertising”.
It comes after Meta agreed to stop targeting adverts at human rights campaigner Tanya O’Carroll after she filed a lawsuit against Facebook’s collection of personal details.
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Meta said it was “pleased to draw a line under this long-running case”.
A spokesperson said: “We fundamentally disagree with the claims made by Ms O’Carroll, no business can be mandated to give away its services for free.
“We take our UK GDPR obligations seriously and provide robust settings and tools for users to control their data and advertising preferences.
“Facebook and Instagram cost a significant amount of money to build and maintain, and these services are free for British consumers because of personalised advertising.
“Like many internet services, we are exploring the option of offering people based in the UK a subscription and will share further information in due course.”
Meta already offers an advert-free subscription option to users in the EU.
Previously:
The boomers and Gen X’s that are left over there are going to love this. Really can’t wait for that platform to just die, tiktok next.
Bring it on Zuck and we’ll be waiting to usher the refugees to the Fediverse.
@Emperor i WANT them to make fb a subscription for canadians too. I’ll usher all my family and friends to the fediverse with open arms and much enthusiasm
It sounds more like it’s optional?
Nail in the coffin if they do. Show Facebook what happened when banks wanted to charge a fee for an account or for us to take money out of our own accounts at atma in the he UK
Didn’t the EU tell Facebook to fuck off with “ads or pay”?
Yeah but the UK isn’t in the EU anymore (yay so much benefit).
So Facebook are trying it on, although they seem to have misread the situation since although technically the UK isn’t in the EU the EU’s laws still applying the UK in most cases. Despite the machinations of the Conservatives, who are on par with the GOP in terms of scumminess.
@Emperor how expensive is it for an AI software to do it all for them?
Probably not possible for what we have in 2025.
