Earlier this month, Facebook launched a paid ad-free subscription service in Europe to comply with strict European data regulations. However, a prominent privacy advocacy group is launching a full-out attack on the new model, claiming that it amounts to paying a fee to Facebook to ensure privacy.

Facebook’s ad-free version costs 9.99 euros per month for web users and 12.99 euros for mobile users. The company claims this is a valid way to handle issues of user consent for data tracking, but the Austria-based privacy group NOYB (None Of Your Business) vehemently disagrees.

“EU law requires that consent is the genuine free will of the user. Contrary to this law, Meta charges a ‘privacy fee’ of up to 250 euros per year if anyone dares to exercise their fundamental right to data protection,” NOYB data protection lawyer Felix Mikolasch said in a statement. “Not only is the cost unacceptable, but industry numbers suggest that only 3 percent of people want to be tracked — while more than 99 percent don’t exercise their choice when faced with a ‘privacy fee.’ If Meta gets away with this, competitors will soon follow in its footsteps.”

Facebook has traditionally struggled to keep up with European privacy laws, but the company seems to think this paid version will finally get it in the clear. However, with the strength of this challenge, that will certainly be thrown back into doubt.

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