Menlo Park, CA – Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, announced today that it will launch ad-free versions of Instagram and Facebook in Europe starting in early 2024. The move comes amid increasing regulatory pressure on the company in Europe around data privacy and competition issues.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said “We want to provide people with more choice and control over their experience on our platforms. An ad-supported model will remain our primary business model, but we recognize that some users want options that minimize data collection and advertising. We plan to offer paid, ad-free versions of Instagram and Facebook in Europe giving users the choice between a version of the services with ads and data collection to support free service, and a paid version with minimal ads and data collection.”
The paid, ad-free version will cost around €12 per month for Facebook and €6 per month for Instagram. Meta will roll out the ad-free options on a country by country basis across Europe starting in early 2024.
The move to offer paid ad-free options appears to be an attempt by Meta to proactively address incoming EU regulations like the Digital Services Act which aims to curb harmful content and disinformation online. Meta may also be trying to head off anti-trust scrutiny of its ad business which some European regulators have argued stifles competition.
Rival social media platforms like Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok currently do not offer paid ad-free options. It remains to be seen if consumers will pay for an ad-free experience on platforms like Facebook and Instagram which have always been free to use.
The impact of the ad-free paid tiers on Meta’s ad revenue also remains uncertain. Meta makes over 90% of its revenue from advertising and Europe makes up almost 25% of that business. The company may be hoping the goodwill generated from offering choice outweighs any potential revenue impact of paid ad-free tiers in Europe.
