Meta has long been at loggerheads with European Union officials over its approach to targeted Facebook and Instagram ads. The company hopes to appease regulators to a block ad model that includes its price reduction . From November 13, the plan will be 40 percent cheaper – €6 ($6.36) per month to sign up online, and €8 ($8.48) per month for those who subscribe on an iOS or Android device. Each additional Facebook and Instagram account costs €4 per month online and €5 per month via mobile.
The company will automatically discount current subscribers. It will reportedly ask users on the block again if they want to register.
When they see this request (which can only be ignored for a certain period of time), AB will be the third option for Facebook and Instagram users to choose from. Those who don’t want to pay for a subscription can instead choose to only see ads based on what they see in apps in a given session. Meta will also affect several key data markers, such as “people’s age, location, gender, and how people engage with ads.”
The company notes that these less personalized ads will not naturally be tailored to a particular user’s interests. Hence, people are less likely to click on such ads. To compensate for this (and make sure this option doesn’t hit Meta too hard), people who choose the less personalized ad option will sometimes experience insurmountable ads. according to these will be displayed in full screen.
“Such ad breaks are common in other services and are already offered by many of our competitors,” Meta claims. “This change will help us continue to deliver value to advertisers, ensuring that we provide people with a less personalized advertising experience for free.”
Targeted ads are Meta’s biggest source of revenue, but EU officials are reportedly pressuring the company to offer a free, less personalized option in its apps. Meta argued that this would negatively impact its results. Although it does not fulfill the wishes of the officials, the intrusive advertising aspect can be interpreted as harmful compliance as it degrades the user experience.
Meta claims that these changes to its advertising model “meet the requirements of the EU regulator and go beyond what is required by the bloc’s laws”. The company introduced its ad-free subscription a year ago to comply with laws such as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), as well as stricter interpretations of the General Data Protection Regulation. It was previously ordered from users in the block before showing them personalized ads.
However, the EU did not take too kindly to the paid ad-free approach. The investigation into the “consent or pay” model is ongoing. In July, the EU said that its preliminary results were Meta with this plan.
These latest changes are said to be Meta’s attempt to fix the issue, but that’s why MagazineEU’s discussions with the company have not been concluded. The bloc’s regulator has until the end of March to complete its investigation and make a final decision. If Meta is found to have indeed violated the DMA, the company could face fines of up to 10 percent of its annual global revenue. Based on it Total revenue for 2023It may have to pay $13 billion or more.
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