A recent court settlement with a UK citizen ended in an agreement by Meta to stop serving them personalized ads, a decision that may well have broader ramifications for its operations in the country.
Though this particular case only applies to its plaintiff, human rights advocate Tanya O’Carroll, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)-backed decision will likely have to inform the company’s broader UK policy as others could launch similar suits. Meta responded to the suit by stating that it is considering a “pay or OK” model for the country similar to the one that it already offers in the European Union.
Meta may shift targeted advertising in UK to its EU model after court decision
O’Carroll launched the suit against Meta in 2022, claiming that the social media giant had violated her rights under national data privacy laws by refusing to cease collecting and processing her personal data for targeted advertising. After the suit was backed by ICO, Meta opted to reach a settlement in a likely bid to keep it from being referred to the English High Court.
For the moment, the decision applies solely to O’Carroll. However, it is very likely it will prompt dramatic action on targeted advertising throughout the UK. Other Meta product users could cite this decision and the ICO’s formal backing to bring their own suits. That seems to have been the impetus for Meta to state that it is weighing the option of an “ad-free” subscription option for its services, similar to the scheme it already runs in the EU.
Meta’s central defense, which was that targeted advertising does not constitute a form of direct marketing under UK law, was never ultimately tested in court. In response to the suit, ICO unequivocally stated that online targeted advertising should be considered as a type of direct marketing and that data privacy regulations should be applied to it.
O’Carroll told media outlets that she was unable to disclose details of how Meta will personally exempt her from targeted advertising as a condition of the settlement, but did say that the company has guaranteed that she will not be asked for a subscription fee.
Meta subscription model already facing challenges in the EU
The state of Meta’s subscription model in the EU may well be a preview of what is to come in the UK if it does opt to go that route, given the great similarity between the data protection laws of the two regions. After the full Brexit split was completed, the UK Data Protection Act (DPA) retained the fundamental structure of the prior General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) while essentially bolting on a set of additional requirements and exemptions.
The EU subscription model launched in late 2023, and costs about the equivalent of $10.50 per month for the most basic “ad-free” access to Meta services on a desktop or laptop computer. If a user wants to add access to the company’s Android or iOS apps, it adds several dollars to the monthly bill.
Meta introduced the pay-or-consent, or “pay or OK,” model in the EU countries in November 2023 after essentially reaching the end of their rope in invoking GDPR exceptions to having to collect informed consent from users to run its targeted advertising programs. As the name implies users of Facebook, Instagram and other Meta services must either pay the asking price for an ad-free subscription or consent to targeted advertising by default by continuing to use them.
This scheme was immediately met with a legal challenge by privacy advocate Max Schrems, and this in turn sparked investigations opened by several different EU member states. In mid-2024 the European Commission determined that the scheme was not compliant with Digital Markets Act rules, specifically citing the need for a “third option” in which consumers can continue to use the service for free but have enhanced privacy. Meta’s answer to this, debuted in late 2024, was a “less personalized” ad option that retained targeted advertising but used fewer sensitive data points to do it; the revision quickly met with more criticism when it was revealed that items like date of birth were still being used, and that these particular ads would also be full-screen and unskippable (similar to the types of ads common to “free-to-play” mobile games).
ICO has previously said that it is already investigating how the UK data protection laws would apply to such a model if Meta attempts to deploy it there. But since those laws are very close to the terms of the GDPR, Meta would likely still run into the same consent collection problems with any “more private” mode it attempts to add. The other big sticking point for EU regulators had been the price of the subscription, which they suggested should be close to whatever the company would expect to make in targeted advertising from the average user. A prior noyb complaint estimated the company averages only a little over five euros per month per user by serving personalized ads, making any of its subscription options at least twice as expensive.
