Privacy watchdogs target Meta over paid ad-free services in Europe

16 February 2024
The company might set a dangerous precedent in which users have to pay to protect their privacy.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • YUU
  • 16 Feb 2024

Lucky me for deleting my Facebook like 10 years ago 😎

    "Meta introduced a paid tier to Facebook and Instagram, which allows users in Europe to opt-out of ads for a fee"
    Actually, no. I went to facebook to check some third party app settings and was met with an ultimatum.
    Choice 1: PAY UP NOW. The fee is also pretty ridiculous, as it costs more than netflix and spotify COMBINED.
    Choice 2: agree to any and all data collection and selling to third parties.

    I would say this is direct violation of whatever privacy laws exist currently, as the third option should be "Access account settings and my personal posts, without reactions, without friends, without anything else, just MY PERSONAL DATA, so I can delete it all or manage MY PERSONAL DATA without paying for access to MY PERSONAL DATA".

    IMHO, this is no different than a ransomware attack - your data is held hostage till you pay up, except it was executed by the big old facebook aka "meta" and you don't need to send BTC, you can pay up using good old credit card.

    Imagine getting a message in the morning that says something like "you know, we decided to charge you some money for using your phone, because Meta can do it, why can't we do it as well? You use google services, so pay up $30 a month or give us all the data on the phone, including data from every sensor on the device, every second of it working". I thought it was unrealistic, till this Facebook move. Now I see:

    Nothing is true
    Everything is permitted

    The second part is the modus operandi of big tech, it seems.

    Anyways, I haven't used facebook much before, now I just don't use facebook at all. Some day I'll finally get into my account and set it up for deletion, my friends can reach me in other ways.

      Facebook what? Oh its the app i deleted more than a decade ago..

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • rAS
        • 16 Feb 2024

        Anonymous, 16 Feb 2024No social media, no problem Get outside people, talk to ea... moreLife used to be better without social media. Those were the days

          bruuuh

            Anonymous, 16 Feb 2024No social media, no problem Get outside people, talk to ea... moreReject modernity, embrace tradition 👌

              Why should I pay for ad-free Meta services, when the same company, who is the biggest violator of user data and IP rights, is making so much money selling our data and illegally using copyrighted content?

              If anything, they should be paying us compensation for violating our data privacy and copyright laws.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • vGG
                • 16 Feb 2024

                Best solution, is to delete FB account. No FB, no problems

                  Ouifuf, 16 Feb 2024Are there any other benefits other than removing ads? Becau... moreshould be a part of the 'Meta One' program lmao
                  ad free across all services+verified sticker on all platforms+idk other special stuff etc for 5 to 10 euros a month

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • Q9y
                    • 16 Feb 2024

                    No social media, no problem
                    Get outside people, talk to each other just like the old days
                    good on the body good on the pocket. Screw these greedy corporates

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • Iby
                      • 16 Feb 2024

                      Wait, I thought Facebook already had to be GDPR compliant for all EU (or EEA) users. Are they out going to be GDPR compliant if you pay for ad-free access, or is this just about not showing users any ads?

                        Are there any other benefits other than removing ads? Because if that's the only thing it's very expensive. Needs to be €5 at most to remain competitive

                          • H
                          • HumbleBragga
                          • yat
                          • 16 Feb 2024

                          Pay to use Facebook? Jeez! That's like having to do the house chores for a day just to sit on a grandpa's broke 1950s tractor that's sitting and rusting at his farm.

                          You can't pay me to get me to use facebook, a relic of a useless and dangerous platform lol

                            100% agree.
                            Also, the 'paid fee' is very expensive.

                            Of course, everyone of us has the ultimate power of shutting down the account.

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