The owner of Facebook and Instagram is considering charging UK users for an advert-free version of its platforms after agreeing a settlement in a landmark privacy case.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta agreed to stop targeting a user with adverts based on their personal data after a legal agreement that avoided a trial in the high court in London.
Tanya O’Carroll, a human rights campaigner, launched a lawsuit against the $1.5tn (£1.2tn) company in 2022, alleging it had breached UK data laws by failing to respect her right to demand Facebook stop collecting and processing her data in order to target her with adverts.
On Friday both sides settled the lawsuit, with O’Carroll claiming a “victory” after Meta committed to stop using her personal data to target her with bespoke adverts. O’Carroll’s stance was supported by the UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which said “people have the right to object to their personal information being used for direct marketing”.
O’Carroll said the ICO’s stance, which the regulator made clear in a submission to the high court, could pave the way for more lawsuits on a similar basis.
“This settlement represents not just a victory for me, but for everyone who values their fundamental right to privacy,” said O’Carroll. “None of us signed up to be trapped into decades of surveillance advertising, held hostage by the threat of losing the ability to connect with our loved ones online.”
Meta said it “fundamentally” disagreed with O’Carroll’s claims and took its obligations under the UK’s privacy law, GDPR, seriously. It added that it was weighing the option of introducing a subscription service in the UK, whereby users would pay a fee for an ad-free service. Advertising accounts for approximately 98% of Meta’s revenue.
“We are exploring the option of offering people based in the UK a subscription and will share further information in due course,” said Meta.
Last year the ICO said it was looking at how UK data protection law would apply to an ad-free subscription service.
Meta already offers a no-ads service in the EU costing €7.99 a month after a 2023 ruling by the European court of justice, the highest in the EU.
