Meta’s ad-free subscription for European users, launched less than a month ago, is facing legal troubles in the EU as a Vienna-based digital rights group files a complaint with the country’s data protection authority. Noyb, as the group is known, argues that the subscription model, which requires users to pay a monthly fee to opt out of ads on Facebook and Instagram, will make privacy a privilege only accessible to the wealthy. The high cost of the ad-free plans, coupled with fears that Meta could be evading data protection laws, has prompted concerns that users’ fundamental rights are being violated. The group’s chairman, Max Schrems, likened the situation to the voting rights reserved for the wealthy in the past, saying that paying for privacy shouldn’t be the norm. Noyb, which is the organization behind the previous legal actions against Facebook and Instagram, argues that the new subscription model could set a dangerous precedent within the tech industry and hinder online privacy protection for a large portion of the population.
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