ICO welcomes Meta's changes to its advertising model

In a statement, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has welcomed Meta's decision to adopt a Consent or Pay model for targeted advertising on Facebook and Instagram in the UK. The ICO stated that Meta's previous practice of targeting users via standard terms and conditions was not compliant with UK law.

Under the new model, users can choose between consenting to personalised advertisements or paying a monthly subscription for an ad-free service. The ICO noted that, following its engagement, Meta significantly lowered the subscription price for UK users to almost half that of EU users, ensuring a fairer choice. The ICO said that while Meta has addressed its non-compliance, the ICO will continue to monitor the model's rollout and broader impacts to ensure consumers are empowered to make free and informed choices.

In a statement responding to the news, James Baker, Platform Programme Manager at Open Rights Group, said: "Thousands of people exercised their data protection rights and asked Meta to stop using their personal data for advertising. Meta has failed to deliver and with this new scheme is still failing to respect their data rights.

"People who want to use Meta's services for free should be asked up front if they want ads to be based on their personal data. If they don't consent, Meta must offer ads that are selected in a different way.

"The ICO should not be endorsing schemes that penalise people who want to exercise their data protection rights."

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