Facebook and Instagram users across Britain will soon face a stark choice: pay up to £47.88 per year or consent to their personal data being harvested for targeted advertising, as Meta introduces controversial subscription fees in a dramatic reversal of Mark Zuckerberg’s previous promises.
The social media giant announced Friday that UK users aged over 18 will be charged £2.99 monthly on web browsers or £3.99 through iOS and Android apps to avoid personalised advertisements, with the rollout beginning within weeks. The move represents a fundamental shift for Meta, which has relied on free access funded by advertising since Facebook’s inception twenty years ago.
Most significantly, the decision directly contradicts Zuckerberg’s 2018 testimony before the US Congress, where he explicitly told senators: “There will always be a version of Facebook that is free.” When pressed by Senator Bill Nelson about whether Facebook would charge users to avoid data collection for advertising, Zuckerberg responded: “We want to offer a free service.
ICO Pressure Forces Meta’s Hand
Meta claims the change is necessary following new regulatory requirements from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which demanded “meaningful transparency and choice” about how personal information is used for advertising purposes. The company stated it was “making this change in response to recent regulatory guidance from the ICO.”
An ICO spokesperson welcomed the decision, saying: “We welcome Meta’s decision to ask users for consent to use their personal information to target them with ads. This moves Meta away from targeting users with ads as part of the standard terms and conditions for using its Facebook and Instagram services, which we’ve been clear is not in line with UK law.
The regulator revealed that Meta had originally planned to charge UK users significantly more before negotiations reduced the price. As a result, users in the UK will be able to subscribe at a price point close to half that of EU users,” the ICO confirmed, describing the final pricing as providing “UK consumers with a fair choice.
How the Subscription Works
The subscription model, known as a “consent or pay” approach, covers all Facebook and Instagram accounts registered with a user’s Meta Accounts Center. Additional accounts will incur automatic charges of £2 on web or £3 on mobile platforms. Meta attributes the higher mobile pricing to fees charged by Apple and Google for access to their app stores.
Users who choose not to pay will continue experiencing Facebook and Instagram as they do now, with targeted advertisements based on their personal data. However, this will be considered explicit consent for Meta to use their information for advertising purposes. Non-paying users will retain access to “Ads Preferences” settings to influence their advertisement choices.
For users under 18, the experience remains unchanged, with Meta claiming that only age and location data are used to target teenagers with advertisements.
Notification Process and Timing
All UK users over 18 will receive notifications about the subscription option in the coming weeks. Meta says these notifications will initially be dismissible, allowing existing users time to consider their options before “a decision is required.” The company has not specified when users must make their final choice.
Those opting for the subscription will still see posts and messages from businesses, content creators, and influencers, but these will not be personalised based on their data. The company stressed: “The experience for those who choose to use our services for free will not change.”
Contrasting Approaches: UK versus EU
Meta’s announcement highlighted stark differences between UK and EU regulatory approaches. The company praised the ICO’s “constructive approach,” claiming it “sets the UK apart from the European Union.” In a pointed criticism, Meta stated: “EU regulators continue to overreach by requiring us to provide a less personalised ads experience that goes beyond what the law requires, creating a worse experience for users and businesses.”
The company added: “In contrast, the UK’s more pro-growth and pro-innovation regulatory environment allows for a clearer choice for users, while ensuring our personalised advertising tools can continue to be engines of growth and productivity for companies up and down the country.”
EU users have been able to pay for ad-free Facebook and Instagram since October 2023, initially at €9.99 monthly before prices were reduced to €5.99 following regulatory pressure. In November 2024, Meta was forced to offer EU users a third option of “less personalised” advertising in response to ongoing regulatory concerns.
Privacy Campaigners Claim Victory
The announcement follows a landmark privacy case brought by human rights campaigner Tanya O’Carroll, who successfully challenged Meta’s use of her personal data for targeted advertising. In March 2025, Meta agreed to stop targeting O’Carroll with personalised advertisements after she took her case to the ICO.
O’Carroll celebrated what she called a “victory not just for me but for every UK and EU citizen,” adding: “I applaud the ICO for their rational and principled application of the law in their intervention in my case and for publicly confirming they will back up other UK citizens who wish to exercise their right to object.”
Industry Impact and Business Model Shift
The move represents a seismic shift for Meta’s business model, with advertising accounting for over 96 per cent of the company’s revenue according to its latest quarterly financial results. The subscription option follows similar “consent or pay” models already adopted by several UK news publishers, including The Guardian, Daily Mirror, and The Independent.
Meta insisted that “subscriptions, as an alternative to seeing personalised advertising, is a well-established and economically viable business model spanning many industries, from news publishing and gaming to music and entertainment.”
The company emphasised that it does not sell personal data to advertisers, stating: “We do not sell personal data to advertisers.”
Regulatory Landscape Evolving
The ICO’s January 2025 guidance on “consent or pay” models established that such approaches can comply with UK data protection law, provided users genuinely consent freely and organisations meet other legal requirements. The guidance outlined four key factors: power imbalance, appropriate fees, equivalence, and privacy by design.
Stephen Almond, ICO Executive Director of Regulatory Risk, explained the broader strategy: “Tracking should work for everyone – giving people clear choices and confidence in how their information is used, while enabling businesses to operate fairly and responsibly.”
The announcement comes as the ICO launches a major compliance initiative targeting the UK’s top 1,000 websites for cookie compliance, having already identified concerns with 134 of the top 200 UK websites.
Digital privacy expert Dr Sarah Mitchell from the University of Cambridge warned: “We’re entering an era where people are being asked to choose between money and privacy – and for now, most will just keep scrolling for free.”
Industry analysts predict low uptake of the paid option, citing similar patterns when Meta launched its EU subscription service. Most users are expected to continue with the free, ad-supported version despite privacy concerns, effectively legitimising Meta’s data collection practices through explicit consent.
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