Meta fails to respect data rights with consent and pay scheme

Meta has announced that it will offer customers in the UK a new subscription service which will enable them to access the company’s services without receiving adverts. People who want to use Meta for free will continue to see adverts. Even though Meta says they will be able to “control their ads experience”, the ads they see will be targeted according to their personal data.

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.

Background

In March 2025, Meta settled a four year court case with human rights campaigner Tanya O’Carroll, who had taken legal action to force the social media giant to stop collecting and processing her personal data for advertising purposes.

The case clarified that all users have the right to opt out of profiling for targeted advertising. Thousands of Meta users took action and asked Meta to stop using their data for targeted ads. To date, Meta’s response has been unsatisfactory and this new scheme is not adequate.

Earlier this year, ORG published a report, which outlined alternatives that would allow Meta to profit from advertising while respecting the privacy rights of its customers.

ORG has also called for Meta provide a tracking-free version of their services accessible without payment in order to implement consent or pay in a lawful manner.