August 16, 2025, 2:39 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta company has been asking for payment for several weeks now. More precisely, a “choice.” When logging into Facebook or Instagram, users are presented with a prompt on their screen. This requires them to make a decision: either continue to provide their personal data for advertising purposes for free or pay a monthly fee to opt out of this practice. TECHBOOK explains why this is not just about agreeing to newly formulated terms and conditions.
The decision must be made, as there’s no way forward otherwise. The pop-up cannot be clicked away. Why does this prompt appear?
The choice between a subscription without ads and total data sharing, which Meta is now demanding, stems from the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in Europe. Due to violations of this law, Meta was fined 200 million euros by the European Commission in spring 2025. Considering the company’s profit of over 16 billion euros in the first quarter of this year alone, one might think this is a manageable penalty.
Meta Subscription Is “Digital Protection Money”
One thing is clear: the company is not aiming to improve user privacy. Meta wants to avoid further EU penalties through user consent. The company refers to a DMA clause that allows personalized advertising if users explicitly consent. Those who oppose Meta’s use of personal data for advertising purposes are expected to pay for it.
Now the question arises whether this is a voluntary decision or more of a mandatory fee. This viewpoint is shared by data protection authorities and consumer protection organizations.
Among the skeptics is Max Schrems, chairman of “none of your business” (noyb) from Vienna. He has been fighting against Facebook’s misuse of user data for years with his organization. Max Schrems describes Meta’s move as “a kind of digital protection money.”
Indeed, it seems Meta is relying on users’ ignorance when making their choice. Most probably don’t even understand what they’re deciding on. There is also uncertainty about what a user receives if they refuse consent and subscribe to Facebook or Instagram.
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More Than Just a One-Click Decision
It sounds simple: those who want to continue using Meta’s social media offerings as before click “Use for free with ads” and go directly to their homepage. Those who don’t want to see ads are prompted by Meta to subscribe for 5.99 euros per month. Each additional Meta account costs another 4 euros per month. It doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict which option many will unknowingly choose. Meta likely relies on this user inertia.
But beware: the choice has consequences with currently unforeseeable outcomes. “No ads” sounds tempting, of course. Yet Meta may still use all personal data shared on the platforms despite payment. What happens with it in the background, no one knows.
“Without a look into the Meta company’s engine room, it will always remain unclear what really happens with the paying customers’ data, whether they are truly not merged and used to measure individual behavior. There is no reason to trust Mark Zuckerberg,” warns Markus Beckedahl, net activist and founder of the online platform netzpolitik.org and the Center for Digital Rights and Democracy.
The way Meta now obtains “consent” and presents users with the choice between money or data sale is highly problematic from a consumer protection perspective, criticizes Markus Beckedahl. At least, such an approach seems incompatible with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It states that consent must be given freely. Therefore, the legal question to be clarified is: Is consent against a monthly payment still considered voluntary?
Privacy as a Luxury Item?
Indirectly, it is also being examined whether privacy will become a luxury item in the future. Those who don’t have the necessary funds will lose their right to control what happens with their own data. Thus, users also decide what global digital companies like Amazon, Google, or Meta can do with personal data in the future.
Therefore, the choice also offers the possibility to completely part ways with Facebook and Instagram. That would be the third option, not explicitly offered. After all, Meta has shown in the past that the company is not interested in providing an open social media community but in monetizing user data in ever-new ways.
One might not care at all. Nevertheless, it’s worth considering and not just clicking “Continue as before.”