Consent-or-pay

Consent-or-pay is an emerging business tactic in response to the passing of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where viewers of a website must either accept all cookies for ads or pay a small sum to avoid data tracking. This tactic is controversial to consumers and policymakers alike and is viewed by many as coercive. However, it has worked enough to the point where, as of August of 2025, 16 out of 50 of the biggest UK news websites have enacted this practice.

How it works

When viewing a website, consumers are greeted with a pop-up display on the use of cookies. Instead of the usual Accept or Reject options, users are now greeted with Accept or Pay, often with a small sum of about £1.99 per month. This makes it so that users are not paying to access content like other subscription services; rather, they are paying for privacy protection while viewing freely available content.

Why it is a problem

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Examples

• Meta
• UK news sites (The Mirror, The Independent, et al.)

Response

Criticisms from policymakers

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European Commission fines Meta

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Consumer response

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