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| 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 must either: | | 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: |
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| *'''Consent''' to the use of cookies and personal data for targeted advertising, '''or'''
| | #'''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.
| | #'''Pay''' a recurring fee, usually a small monthly amount, to access the service without tracking. |
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| The practice generated significant debate among regulators, policymakers, and consumer advocates alike and is viewed as undermining meaningful consent. Despite controversy, the model is being increasingly adopted by large online platforms and news organizations. 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> | | 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> |
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| ==Background== | | ==Background== |
| ''Main article:'' [[General Data Protection Regulation]] | | ''Main article:'' [[General Data Protection Regulation]] |
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| The General Data Protection Regulation was passed in 2018 with the aim of protecting online users from excessive data collection by large companies. The regulation does this by requiring companies to allow users to consent to data collection, and this is often done by an opt-in banner or pop-up on the home screen of any given website.
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| Companies began feeling like they were losing revenue over this new regulation because they could no longer collect data for targeted ads at the same scale they'd done before. This led to the new consent-or-pay model as a workaround.
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| ==How it works== | | ==How it works== |
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| *Consumers must now “pay” either with their personal data or with money. | | *Consumers must now “pay” either with their personal data or with money. |
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| This effectively introduces a '''paywall for previously freely accessible content''' even if no traditional subscription model exists. | | This effectively introduces a '''paywall for previously freely accessible content''', even if no traditional subscription model exists. |
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| ==Why it is a problem== | | ==Why it is a problem== |
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| ===Invalid consent=== | | ==Meta investigation and fine== |
| This binary model of data collection creates the illusion of consent because users are compelled to choose one of two bad options, both of which require loss in exchange for content that is generally considered free access.
| | In 2024, Meta has been accused of employing sly workarounds for GDPR, including an earlier version of consent-or-pay. They have since changed the messaging and how its displayed; however, UK visitors to Facebook and Instagram must still choose between consenting to data collection or paying the monthly fee in order to access those platforms. |
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| ===Lack of informed consent===
| | In June of 2025, the European Commission stated that Meta's continued practice of consent-or-pay may accrue daily fines. |
| Companies often inform users that cookies and data collection are for "personalized ads" and "improving services." What they do not express is how a user's personal data is stored in data centers, shared among third-parties, sold to data brokers, and often become publicized through breaches. Users underestimate the costs of giving away their personal data, believing that advertisements of things they're already interested in makes their data a fair trade-off.
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| ===False equivalence===
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| The consent-or-pay model creates a false equivalence between two options. It denotes that the company loses, say, $2 or $5 a month when a user rejects targeted ads. This is an impossible metric considering that there is no way to guess whether the individual user would have purchased any item that is advertised to them. At best, this means the monthly fee is completely arbitrary. At worst, it is based upon a percentage of users who do happen to make purchases and is then unfairly distributed upon all users, irrespective of purchase or ad consumption, which is also known as ''average revenue per user (ARPU).''
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| ===Illusion of fair exchange===
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| For users, the consent-or-pay model leads to a false belief that a fair exchange is taking place. When a company asks for a price as low as $2 a month while seeking data collection as a "free" alternative, the user is led to believe that they are fairly reimbursing the company for loss ad revenue, especially for such a low monthly fee. In susceptible users, they may be tricked into believing this is a fair and ethical decision they are making, thus happily choosing to engage in a deliberately misleading practice.
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| ==Meta investigation and fine==
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| After a year-long investigation by the European Commission, [[Meta]] was fined in April of 2025 for failing to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The European Commission's investigation targeted Meta's consent-or-pay model because it failed to meet the DMA's criteria of reducing personalized data for targeted ads and it does not allow users to freely consent.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 June 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}}</ref> Consequently, Meta was fined with 228 million Euro in the month of April, and in July, the European Commission warned that the social media company may face accrued daily fines if they continue employing this tactic.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 June 2025 |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/ |website=Reuters}}</ref>
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| ==Other uses== | | ==Other uses== |
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| Many media outlets adopted Consent-or-pay. Some High-profile european examples include: | | Many media outlets adopted Consent-or-pay. Some High-profile european examples include: |
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| *The Mirror | | * The Mirror |
| *The Independent | | * The Independent |
| *Der Spiegel | | * Der Spiegel |
| *Der Standard | | * Der Standard |
| *Le Monde | | * Le Monde |
| *Le Parisien | | * Le Parisien |
| *Corriere della Sera | | * Corriere della Sera |
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| ==Response== | | ==Response== |
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| ===Criticisms from policymakers=== | | ===Criticisms from policymakers=== |
| In 2024, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published a non-binding opinion on "Valid Consent in the Context of Consent or Pay Models Implemented by Large Online Platforms." The EDPB denotes that the consent-or-pay model does not constitute as valid consent and that appropriate alternative measures to the model should provide users with an "equivalent alternative." Additionally, they say that if a company wishes to use a payment model, then the opposing equal alternative should not involve processing personal data. Any choice in which users feel compelled to consent does not qualify as valid consent.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=17 April 2024 |title=EDPB: ‘Consent or Pay’ models should offer real choice |url=https://www.edpb.europa.eu/news/news/2024/edpb-consent-or-pay-models-should-offer-real-choice_en |website=European Data Protection Board}}</ref>
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| Anu Talus, Chair of the EDPB, said:<blockquote>“Online platforms should give users a real choice when employing ‘consent or pay’ models. The models we have today usually require individuals to either give away all their data or to pay. As a result most users consent to the processing in order to use a service, and they do not understand the full implications of their choices.”<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>
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| ===Consumer advocates===
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| Example Text<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><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> | |
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| ==Effectiveness==
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| The effects of the consent-or-pay model vary widely.
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| Advertising Week reports only 30% of users accept the cookies after the GDPR<ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=https://advertisingweek.com/as-the-open-marketplace-fails-advertisers-are-turning-to-publishers-to-reach-audiences/}}</ref>
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| (2023) According to The Drum, as much as 40% of users simply use a VPN<ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2023/05/09/70-consumers-blocking-cookies-online-research-shows}}</ref>
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| (PG 2025) Meanwhile, "When users are equally offered the chance to “accept all” or “reject all” cookies, consent rates are typically somewhere around 70-80%, according to both Skovgaards and Contentpass founder Dirk Freytag.<ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/marketing/consent-or-pay-uk-publishers-advertising-2025/}}</ref>
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| ==Alternative practices== | | ===Consumer response=== |
| The Guardian develops a new "contextual advertising" model that bases ads upon whatever page the user is currently viewing (i.e. food ingredients on a recipe page). They say, “It’s a perfect advertising product for a privacy conscious brand and a brand doing the right thing.” They report a 35% increase in clicks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maher |first=Bron |date=21 November 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/ |website=Press Gazette}}</ref>
| | Example Text |
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| ==References== | | ==References== |
| {{reflist}} | | {{reflist}} |
| [[Category:Common terms]] | | [[Category:Common terms]] |