Meta lowers subscription prices for Instagram and Facebook

Meta lawyer Timothy Lamb stated at a workshop at the European Commission that Meta would lower the price of its ad-free subscription model in an effort to end the European Union's (EU) investigation into how the company uses users' personal data.

Reporting that Meta has offered to reduce the monthly ad-free subscription fee for Facebook and Instagram from 9.99 euros to 5.99 euros per month for a single account, Lamb said that an additional fee of 4 euros would be charged for each additional account.

Lamb said, "This is by far the lower end of the range that any reasonable person should pay for services of this quality. And I think this is a serious offer. There is currently regulatory uncertainty and this needs to be resolved quickly."

OFFICIAL COMPLAINT HAD BEEN FILED

While Meta faces an investigation by European regulators regarding its ad-free subscription model and the use of data, Lamb noted that Meta's offer was made to speed up the process and appease regulators.

The fee in question does not include additional charges that users would pay if they download the apps from app stores such as Apple or Google.

On the other hand, in November 2023, the Brussels-based European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), an umbrella organization for 45 consumer associations from various European countries, had filed an official complaint with 19 of its members against Meta's unfair payment or consent model.

Meta had launched the subscriptions to mitigate the threat of lost advertising revenue in response to stricter regulations in the EU.

News Source: 12punto