Consent-or-pay

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Consent-or-pay, also known as consent-or-okay, is a business model implemented in response to the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Under this model, users of a website are presented with a choice to either:

• Consent to the use of cookies and personal data for targeted advertising, or
• Pay a small monthly fee to access the service without tracking.

The practice has been the subject of discussion among regulators, policymakers, and consumer advocates, with some viewing it as a challenge to the principle of meaningful consent. The model has been adopted by a number of large online platforms and news organizations. As of August 2025, 16 of the 50 largest UK news websites had implemented a consent-or-pay model.

Background

Main article: General Data Protection Regulation

The General Data Protection Regulation was enacted in 2018 with the objective of protecting online users from extensive data collection by companies. The regulation requires companies to obtain user consent for data collection, which is typically facilitated through an opt-in banner or pop-up on a website.

Some companies reported a negative impact on revenue following the regulation's implementation, as the scale of data collection for targeted advertising was reduced. The consent-or-pay model emerged as one approach to address this change.

How it works

When a user visits a website, a pop-up consent window is displayed. While traditional options were to Accept or Reject cookies, the consent-or-pay model presents users with the options to Accept or Pay.

• The payment is typically a monthly fee (e.g. £1.99 per month).
• Many sites employing this model were previously free-to-access and funded primarily through advertising.
• Users must choose to either provide personal data or pay a monetary fee.

This introduces a form of access control for content that was previously freely available, even in the absence of a traditional subscription model.

Criticisms and concerns

Questions regarding valid consent

This binary choice model has raised questions about the validity of consent, as users are required to choose between two options, both of which involve a form of payment for content that is often perceived as free.

Scope of information provided

Companies typically state that cookies and data collection are for "personalized ads" and "improving services." The extent to which user data is stored, shared with third-parties, sold to data brokers, or potentially exposed in data breaches is often not detailed. This can lead to users underestimating the long-term implications of sharing their personal data.

Basis for pricing

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 has been questioned, 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.

User perception of fairness

The model can create a perception that a fair exchange is taking place. By offering a seemingly low monthly fee as an alternative to data collection, users may believe they are compensating the company fairly for lost advertising revenue. This can influence the decision-making process regarding data privacy.

Meta investigation and fine

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. Meta was fined €228 million in April, and by July, the European Commission indicated that the company could face additional daily fines if it continued to employ this model.

Uses

News organizations

Several media outlets in Europe have adopted consent-or-pay models, including:

• The Mirror
• The Independent
• Der Spiegel
• Der Standard
• Le Monde
• Le Parisien
• Corriere della Sera
• MeridioNews
• 
  Screenshot of MeridioNews' consent-or-pay policy appearing after rejecting cookies on one of their articles
• 
  (machine-translated) screenshot of MeridioNews' consent-or-pay policy

Response

Regulatory perspectives

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 opinion stated that consent-or-pay models often do not constitute valid consent and that users should be provided with an "equivalent alternative." Furthermore, it noted that if a payment model is offered, the alternative should not involve processing personal data. Consent is not considered valid if users feel compelled to choose a particular option.

Anu Talus, Chair of the EDPB, said:

"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."

Consumer advocacy groups

The data protection advocacy organization noyb, based in Austria, focuses on GDPR compliance and violations. 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". The complaint cited the cost of rejecting personalized ads, which was €12.99 per month for Facebook and €8 per month for Instagram, amounting to a combined annual total of €251.88. noyb expressed concern that Meta's approach could set a precedent for other platforms, potentially increasing the cost of data protection for users.

Effectiveness

The impact of the consent-or-pay model varies.

• Advertising Week reported in September 2023 that 30% of users accepted cookies post-GDPR.

• In 2023, The Drum reported that approximately 40% of users employed a VPN to bypass regional consent-or-pay restrictions.

• In 2025, the Press Gazette stated, "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".

Alternative practices

Some organizations have developed alternative advertising models. The Guardian implemented a "contextual advertising" model that serves ads based on the content of the page a user is viewing (e.g., food ingredients on a recipe page). The company described it as "a perfect advertising product for a privacy conscious brand." In 2023, they reported a 35% increase in ad clicks with this model.