Consent-or-pay: Difference between revisions

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Consent-or-pay is ~~an emerging~~ business tactic in response to the ~~passing of the~~ [[General Data Protection Regulation|General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)]] ~~where viewers~~ of a website ~~must~~ either ~~accept all~~ cookies for targeted ~~ads~~ or ~~pay~~ a small monthly ~~sum~~ to ~~avoid data~~ tracking. ~~This tactic is controversial~~ to ~~consumers and~~ policymakers ~~alike~~ and ~~is viewed by many~~ as ~~coercive~~. ~~However~~, the ~~tactic has proven effective~~ and ~~is gaining wider adoption~~. As of August of 2025, 16 ~~out~~ of 50 ~~of the biggest~~ UK news websites ~~have~~ implemented consent-or-pay.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Press Gazette, More UK news publishers are adopting ‘consent or pay’ advertising model |url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/marketing/consent-or-pay-uk-publishers-advertising-2025/}}</ref>

Consent-or-pay is a business tactic in response to the European Union’s ''[[General Data Protection Regulation]]'' [[General Data Protection Regulation|(GDPR)]]. Under this model, users of a website have to either:

# '''Consent''' to the use of cookies and personal data for targeted advertising, '''or'''

# '''Pay''' a recurring fee, usually a small monthly amount, to access the service without tracking.

The practice generated significant debate among regulators<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chan |first=Kelvin |date=2025-04-23 |title=The European Union hits Apple and Meta with 700 million euros in fines, first under digital rules |url=https://apnews.com/article/apple-iphone-meta-european-union-facebook-technology-7924bfffe1da801a5023057faa9a511b |website=The Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-01 |title=Commission sends preliminary findings to Meta over its “Pay or Consent” model for breach of the Digital Markets Act |url=https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_3582 |publisher=European Comission |type=Press Release |publication-place=Brussels}}</ref>, policymakers<ref>{{Cite web |last=Illman |first=Erin Jane |date=2024-07-29 |title=Can Privacy Be Bought? How Scrutiny of Meta’s Subscription Model Has Wider Implications –PART II |url=https://natlawreview.com/article/can-privacy-be-bought-how-scrutiny-metas-subscription-model-has-wider-0 |website=The National Law Review}}</ref>, and consumer advocates<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-28 |title=noyb files GDPR complaint against Meta over “Pay or Okay” |url=https://noyb.eu/en/noyb-files-gdpr-complaint-against-meta-over-pay-or-okay |website=noyb}}</ref>. Critics describe it as a ''form of coercion'' which ''"coerces people to consent''"<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-18 |title=Six years of the GDPR: we won’t pay for our right to data protection |url=https://www.accessnow.org/press-release/gdpr-data-protection-pay-or-consent/ |publisher=accessnow}}</ref> and undermines meaningful consent. Despite controversy, the model is being increasingly adopted by large online platforms and news organizations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-24 |title=noyb's Pay or Okay report: how companies make you pay for privacy |url=https://noyb.eu/en/noybs-pay-or-okay-report-how-companies-make-you-pay-privacy |website=noyb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=noyb's Pay or Okay report |url=https://noyb.eu/sites/default/files/2025-07/Pay_or_Okay_Report_2025_web.pdf |publisher=[[noyb]] |pages=9, 27}}</ref> As of '''August 2025''', 16 of the 50 largest UK news websites had implemented consent-or-pay.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Press Gazette, More UK news publishers are adopting ‘consent or pay’ advertising model |url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/marketing/consent-or-pay-uk-publishers-advertising-2025/}}</ref>

==Background==