Facebook Parent Meta's New Privacy Fee Strategy Faces Backlash As It Could Set Costly Trend In App Privacy

Meta Platforms, Inc. META is under scrutiny again as advocacy group NOYB filed a complaint against the tech behemoth with the Austrian data protection authority.

European users are now presented with the option to either agree to be tracked for personalized advertising on Instagram and Facebook, or pay up to €251.88 annually to maintain their fundamental right to data protection.

Vienna-based NOYB, which operates under the European data protection regulation (GDPR), thinks that the cost is "unacceptable."

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"Not only is the cost unacceptable, but industry numbers suggest that only 3 percent of people want to be tracked – while more than 99 percent decide against a payment when faced with a "privacy fee," NOYB said in a statement.

Should Meta succeed in this approach, its rivals are likely to adopt similar strategies. Considering the average phone has 35 apps, maintaining privacy on your device could soon amount to an annual cost of about €8,815, the statement read.

For a family of four, this cost could skyrocket to €35,263.20 yearly, surpassing the average full-time income in the EU.

However, a Meta spokesperson told Reuters that the pricing was in line with similar subscription offerings in Europe.

Meanwhile, Instagram, a social media platform owned by Meta, has been facing major backlash over practices surrounding its suggested content.

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Price Action: META shares are trading lower by 0.42% to $333.30 premarket on the last check Tuesday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.