Region Could Be Charged $14 For Ad-Free Facebook And Instagram Through Meta

Meta is clearly not thrilled with new European Union (EU) rules requiring social media giants to stop pushing ads to users. The company has drawn up a strategy that can go either way. Meta says users in the region may have to pay $14 to use Facebook and Instagram without ads, or else the free versions of the apps will show ads to millions of EU users.

According to reports, Meta charges around $10.46 per month for a Facebook or Instagram account on desktop, while the price rises to €13 ($14) if they sign up through Google or the Apple App Store. In addition to this, each linked account is charged 6 euros, making it a completely ad-free experience on these apps.

Meta has not officially confirmed these new ad-supported versions, but based on its situation in the EU, where it was heavily fined for pushing ads based on users’ online activity, a paid version appears to be on the way.

The company has mentioned that it would prefer to ask users for consent before sending ads to its apps and allow companies to reach them only with targeted advertising. The free versions are becoming a concern for authorities and lawmakers, as the biggest caveat for these apps is the proliferation of advertisements based on what the user browses on the Internet.

Meta has even faced government scrutiny over these allegations, where even Mark Zuckerberg was grilled in front of a congressional committee to stop these abuses. But the situation is quite different in the EU, where users enjoy better privacy protection standards and companies have to comply with them or else face heavy fines worth millions. Meta has also introduced a paid subscription called Verified, which, as the name suggests, verifies your Instagram or Facebook account for a fee.

The company didn’t mention anything about ad-free versions of these versions, but eventually more regions may get this option, as Elon Musk is leading the way with his evolving X platform.