Facebook and Instagram Offer UK Users an Ad-Stopping Subscription Fee

'Facebook and Instagram owner Meta is launching paid subscriptions for users who do not want to see adverts in the UK,' reports the BBC:

The company said it would start notifying users in the coming weeks to let them choose whether to subscribe to its platforms if they wish to use them without seeing ads. EU users of its platforms can already pay a fee starting from €5.99 (£5) a month to see no ads — but subscriptions will start from £2.99 a month for UK users.

'It will give people in the UK a clear choice about whether their data is used for personalised advertising, while preserving the free access and value that the ads-supported internet creates for people, businesses and platforms,' Meta said. But UK users will not have an option to not pay and see 'less personalised' adverts — a feature Meta added for EU users after regulators raised concerns...

Meta said its own model would see its subscription for no ads cost £2.99 a month on the web or £3.99 a month on iOS and Android apps — with the higher fee to offset cuts taken from transactions by Apple and Google... [Meta] reiterated its critical stance on the EU on Friday, saying its regulations were creating a worse experience for users and businesses unlike the UK's 'more pro-growth and pro-innovation regulatory environment'.

'Meta said its own model would see its subscription for no ads cost £2.99 a month on the web or £3.99 a month on iOS and Android apps,' according to the BBC, 'with the higher fee to offset cuts taken from transactions by Apple and Google.'

Even users not paying for an ad-free experience have 'tools and settings that empower people to control their ads experience,' according to Meta's announcement. The include Ad Preferences which influences data used to inform ads including Activity Information from Ad Partners. 'We also have tools in our products that explain 'Why am I seeing this ad?' and how people can manage their ad experience. We do not sell personal data to advertisers.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.