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NOYB argued that Meta’s ‘pay for your rights’ subscription model goes against GDPR and that users may have to pay thousands of euro a year to remain private if other companies follow Meta’s approach.
Meta is facing flak for offering users paid versions of its apps as a way for them to avoid targeted advertising.
The privacy rights group NOYB (None of Your Business) has filed a GDPR complaint against Meta with Austria’s data protection authority over this option. The group has previously referred to this approach as a ‘pay for your rights’ model.
Rumours about this subscription model spread last month and were later confirmed by Meta. The company said the option for people to purchase a subscription for no ads “balances the requirements of European regulators while giving users choice”.
In its complaint, NOYB said that – under EU law – consent to personalised ads is only valid if it is “freely given” and claims a subscription-based alternative is “the exact opposite” of a free choice.
NOYB claims that only a small portion of people want their personal data to be used for personal advertising. But more than 99pc of people decide against paying a privacy fee, according to one study.
The group has also taken issue with the cost people will have to pay if they want maintain their privacy under this subscription model. NOYB said users will have to pay an annual subscription of more than €250 to keep a Facebook account and linked Instagram account free from personalised advertising.
NOYB also raised concerns that this model could lead to a “domino effect” and encourage other companies to implement subscriptions as a way to give users a privacy-friendly option. TikTok is also reportedly testing an ad-free subscription tier for its app at a cost of $4.99 a month.
With the amount of apps the average user has on their phone, NOYB said this could lead to EU citizens paying thousands of euro a year if they want to keep their data private.
“More than 20pc of the EU population are already at risk of poverty,” said NOYB founder Max Schrems. “For the complainant in our case, as for many others, a ‘Pay or Okay’ system would mean paying the rent or having privacy.”
The data privacy group has suggested that Austria’s data watchdog initiate an “urgency procedure” to stop the illegal processing. The group also suggests a deterrent fine be issued to make sure “no other company starts copying Meta’s approach”.
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