A £3.99 Privacy Shield: Meta’s New Offer to UK Users

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Picture Credit: www.heute.at

Meta is now offering a new form of digital protection to its UK users: a “privacy shield” that can be activated for a monthly fee of up to £3.99. This subscription service for Facebook and Instagram is designed to shield users from the company’s own ad-targeting systems.

By purchasing the shield, users can prevent their personal data from being used to serve them personalised ads. The subscription applies to linked accounts, providing a comprehensive barrier against Meta’s commercial data processing.

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has approved the sale of this shield. The regulator agrees that offering a paid protective measure is a valid way for Meta to comply with laws requiring an opt-out mechanism. It provides a choice for users who want to be shielded from the standard data practices.

This paid shield has been deemed an illegal product in the European Union. Regulators there argue that platforms should be safe by default and that companies cannot charge users for a shield against their own invasive practices. A €200m fine was issued to Meta over the scheme.

For UK users, this privacy shield is now an available, optional extra. It turns data protection into a commodity, a protective service that can be bought and sold on the open market.