Should you pay for online privacy protection?
The ICO’s website states that “in principle, data protection laws do not prohibit business models involving ‘consent The ICO says that “in principle, data protection law does not prohibit business models that involve ‘consent or pay, 
Regulators, like the ICO, want to ensure that people remain in control of what happens to their
Regulators, like the ICO, want to make sure people remain, as far as is possible, in charge what happens to their personal data.
Websites, meanwhile, are wary of the shifting sands of online advertising – and fearful of losing revenue to more upstart parts of the online world, such as influencers.
“Fundamentally it comes down to an argument between a right to do business and a right to privacy,” says Philippa Donn, a partner at DPN Associates, a consultancy which advises on data protection issues.
You are the product
There’s a common way to understand internet business models: “If you’re getting it for free, you are the product. “
What that means in practice is websites give away their content away for free and in return you feed them with your personal data.
They then sell that information so you can be targeted with ads more personal to you – and more lucrative for them.
But, since 2018, there has been a threat to that model: websites in the UK have had to ask for explicit consent to use cookies and similar tracking technologies.
Everyone has become familiar with the pop-up when you visit a site, asking you to “accept all” or reject nonessential cookies.
The problem for websites is that if you reject tracking they gather less information, which means advertisers pay them less because they as less confident about how well directed their ads are.
Which is where “consent or pay” comes in – it is an attempt by websites to make up for the money they lose if you say no to your data being collected and sold.
Budget black hole
One of the industries this particularly affects is the print media, which is largely funded by advertising and paywalls online.
But online advertisers have taken their spending elsewhere – on social media sites, influencers and brand deals – leaving a black hole in newspaper budgets.
Newspapers such as MailOnline, The Sun, The Independent and The Times have all recently brought in “consent or pay” models. “It’s a way of saying that we’re giving people the choice.” The ICO is evaluating whether or not the model is allowed. “
This means that whether or not the model is allowed may come down to a case-by-case basis.
The amount users have to pay for privacy may be taken into account.
Another factor considered will be the size of the company and if there is an alternative option for users.
“If you can’t read a certain article, you might just choose not to and you can go read about it somewhere else,” says Ms Lu. She says that for some industries, like film and TV streaming “it may be harder to justify”.
From the “
Getty Images
The question has been tested on social media in the EU, where Meta put a “pay or consent” policy on Instagram and Facebook.
Under this model, Facebook and Instagram still track your behaviour on their apps in order to feed the recommendation alogrithm.
But that data is not used to target ads at you.
In general in the EU, the tech giants such as Meta are held to higher standards than smaller companies when it comes to regulation.
In July, the European Commission informed Meta that preliminary findings suggest its “pay or consent” model is against EU law.
Meta now has the right to review the evidence gathered by the EU and mount a defence.
Meta maintains it is acting within the law and “subscriptions as an alternative to advertising are a well-established business model across many industries”.
The company is currently in discussions with the ICO, the UK data regulator, about bringing the model to the UK in the future. A spokesperson for the company says that they are “engaging in a constructive manner” and will be sharing more information going forward No decisions have yet been made.
