Consent-or-pay: Difference between revisions

*'''Consent''' to the use of [[Web_cookie|cookies]] and personal data for targeted advertising, '''or'''

*'''Pay''' a monthly fee to access the service without tracking.

The consent-or-pay model equates the value of a user's data to a specific monetary amount. The methodology for calculating this equivalent monthly fee comes into question as it is difficult to ascertain the precise advertising revenue generated from an individual user. The fee is often based on an average revenue per user (ARPU) metric, which applies a generalized value to all users regardless of their individual engagement with advertisements and despite studies suggesting that data cannot be fairly valued<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fleckenstein |first=Mike |date=26 Jan 2023 |title=A Review of Data Valuation Approaches and Building and Scoring a Data Valuation Model |url=https://hdsr.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/1qxkrnig/release/1 |website=HDSR. MIT Press |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251121151158/https://hdsr.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/1qxkrnig/release/1 |archive-date=21 Nov 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Diehl |first=Hannah |date=14 Jun 2025 |title=Semivalue-based data valuation is arbitrary and gameable |url=https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.12619 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250618093423/https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.12619 |archive-date=2025-06-18 |access-date=2025-10-02 |website=Cornell University}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=27 Jun 2025 |title=Why ARPU Lies: The Danger of Averages in Pricing Analytics |url=https://www.getmonetizely.com/articles/why-arpu-lies-the-danger-of-averages-in-pricing-analytics |website=Monetizely |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260216031544/https://www.getmonetizely.com/articles/why-arpu-lies-the-danger-of-averages-in-pricing-analytics |archive-date=16 Feb 2026}}</ref>.

Following an investigation by the European Commission, [[Meta]] was fined on 23 April 2025 for non-compliance with the [[Digital Markets Act]] (DMA). The investigation concluded that Meta's consent-or-pay model did not meet the DMA's requirements for reducing personalized data for targeted ads and did not allow for freely given consent.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 Jun 2024 |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 |website=European Commission |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251217051549/https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_3582 |archive-date=17 Dec 2025}}</ref> Meta was fined €228 million in April, and by July, the European Commission warned that the company could face additional daily fines if it continued to employ this model.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Foo Yun Chee |title=Meta may face daily fines over pay-or-consent model, EU warns |url=https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/meta-will-only-make-limited-changes-pay-or-consent-model-eu-says-2025-06-27/ |date=27 Jun 2025 |access-date=1 Sep 2025 |website=Reuters |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/zHICl |archive-date=24 Feb 2026}}</ref>

*Iltalehti<ref>{{Cite news |last=Partanen |first=Joonas |date=21 Oct 2025 |title=Iltalehti lisää yksityisyysasetuksen mainontaan |trans-title=Iltalehti adds a privacy setting to advertising |url=https://www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa/a/bdb1b965-c706-4d18-b975-411aa90a38fc |url-status=live |access-date=21 Oct 2025 |work=Iltalehti |language=FI |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251024080118/https://www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa/a/bdb1b965-c706-4d18-b975-411aa90a38fc |archive-date=24 Oct 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Heikkilä |first=Markus |last2=Heikkonen |first2=Tanja |last3=Aspeslagh |first3=Tiina |date=21 Oct 2025 |title=Iltalehti haluaa tarjota valinnanvapautta, mutta se maksaa |trans-title=Iltalehti wants to provide the freedom of choice, but it comes at a cost |url=https://yle.fi/a/74-20189545 |url-status=live |access-date=21 Oct 2025 |work=Yle |language=FI |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251214184509/https://yle.fi/a/74-20189545 |archive-date=14 Dec 2025}}</ref>

File:MeridioNews consent-or-pay.png|alt=Screenshot of MeridioNews' consent-or-pay policy viewed on a mobile browser. (written in Italian)|Screenshot of MeridioNews' consent-or-pay policy appearing after rejecting cookies on [https://meridionews.it/piazzale-anita-garibaldi-ennesimo-raid-dei-vandali-la-provocazione-di-artale-mettiamo-una-garitta/ one of their articles]

File:MeridioNews consent-or-pay translated.png|alt=(machine-translated from Italian) screenshot of MeridioNews' consent-or-pay policy appearing after rejecting cookies on one of their articles, viewed from a mobile device|(machine-translated) screenshot of MeridioNews' consent-or-pay policy

How-To Geek consent-or-pay.png|HowToGeek

File:How-To Geek premium ad.png|HowToGeek premium page

"[[NOYB|noyb]]" is a data protection advocacy organization based in Austria that focuses primarily on compliance and violations of the General Data Protection Regulation<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://noyb.eu/en/about-us |website=noyb |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260203194254/https://noyb.eu/en/about-us |archive-date=3 Feb 2026}}</ref>. In November 2023, the group filed a complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority against Meta, arguing that the company lacked "any valid legal basis for [pay-or-okay]. [...] Meta is now trying to extort supposed consent from its users with a 'yes or pay' choice".<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 Nov 2023 |title=COMPLAINT UNDER ARTICLE 77(1) GDPR |url=https://noyb.eu/sites/default/files/2023-11/Complaint%20-%20Meta%20Pay%20or%20Okay%20-%20REDACTED.pdf |website=noyb - European Centre for Digital Rights |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250623121759/https://noyb.eu/sites/default/files/2023-11/Complaint%20-%20Meta%20Pay%20or%20Okay%20-%20REDACTED.pdf |archive-date=23 Jun 2025}}</ref> The complaint cited the high costs of rejecting personalized ads, which was €12.99 per month for [[Facebook]] and €8 per month for [[Instagram]], approximating a combined annual cost of €251.88.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=28 Nov 2023 |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 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251220194353/https://noyb.eu/en/noyb-files-gdpr-complaint-against-meta-over-pay-or-okay |archive-date=20 Dec 2025}}</ref> ''noyb'' expressed concern that Meta's approach could set a precedent for other platforms, potentially leading to €35,000 per family when combined with other platforms and websites<ref name=":1" />.

''The Open Marketplace'', once considered the easiest and most efficient platform for advertisers and publishers to transact, has been facing steady decline since the General Data Protection went into effect<ref name=":2" />. In a report by Advertising Week published in September 2023, advertisers using Open Marketplace were reaching only roughly 30% of their audience, meaning that 70% of advertising efforts were wasted due to users opting out of data collection<ref name=":2" />. Their findings were based upon a report from ''Nano Interactive,'' a company that claims to be "at the forefront of privacy-first, identity-free online advertising"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who We Are |url=https://www.nanointeractive.com/company/ |website=Nano Interactive |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260203070810/https://www.nanointeractive.com/company/ |archive-date=3 Feb 2026}}</ref>, in which the company surveyed 2,000 UK consumers and found that 70% of them rejected cookies using various methods (VPN, incognito mode, clearing cache, etc)<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=UK Cookie-Blocking Research |url=https://www.nanointeractive.com/tipping-point-research/ |website=Nano Interactive |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260112164552/https://www.nanointeractive.com/tipping-point-research/ |archive-date=12 Jan 2026}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=O'Connell |first=Vanessa |date=9 May 2023 |title=70% of consumers blocking cookies online, research shows |url=https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2023/05/09/70-consumers-blocking-cookies-online-research-shows |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511090722/https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2023/05/09/70-consumers-blocking-cookies-online-research-shows |archive-date=11 May 2023 |access-date=1 Sep 2025 |website=The Drum}}</ref>.

'''Contextual advertising''' is a model that serves ads based on the content of the page a user is viewing (e.g., food ingredients on a recipe page). This advertising model had once been considered the standard on the internet and has returned in high numbers since the General Data Protection Regulation went into effect<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Davies |first=Jessica |date=7 Jun 2018 |title=‘Personalization diminished’: In the GDPR era, contextual targeting is making a comeback |url=https://digiday.com/media/personalization-diminished-gdpr-era-contextual-targeting-making-comeback/ |website=Digiday |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251110100214/https://digiday.com/media/personalization-diminished-gdpr-era-contextual-targeting-making-comeback/ |archive-date=10 Nov 2025}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Maher |first=Bron |date=21 Nov 2023 |title=Guardian gets around readers who reject cookies with new advertising product |url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/marketing/guardian-light-reject-cookies-advertising-stereotype/ |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128184011/https://pressgazette.co.uk/marketing/guardian-light-reject-cookies-advertising-stereotype/ |archive-date=28 Nov 2023 |access-date=1 Sep 2025 |website=Press Gazette}}<nowiki>}}</nowiki></ref>. ''The Guardian'', a UK-based news organization, reported a 35% increase in ad clicks after emplying this model, describing it as "a perfect advertising product for a privacy conscious brand"<ref name=":6" />. An article from ''Digiday'' reports that some publishers had long complained at the loss of contextual advertising in the rush to micro-target through personalized ads<ref name=":5" />. They state the infamous ''ad-pocalypse'' from YouTube could have been avoided if advertisers stuck with contextual advertising instead of following users around the internet<ref name=":6" />.

*[https://digiday.com/media/personalization-diminished-gdpr-era-contextual-targeting-making-comeback/ ‘Personalization diminished’: In the GDPR era, contextual targeting is making a comeback]