Meta is considering charging Facebook and Instagram users for an ad-free version in the U.K. after a landmark privacy case in which the company agreed to stop targeting ads at a British woman.

Tanya O’Carroll, a human rights campaigner based in London, U.K., launched a lawsuit against Meta in 2022, alleging the company had breached U.K. data laws by ignoring her request to stop Facebook from collecting and processing her data for targeted ads based on topics it thought she was interested in.

On Friday, Meta settled the lawsuit with O’Carroll, who created her Facebook account 20 years ago. The company also agreed not to use her data to target her with personalized ads in a settlement the human rights campaigner describes as a “victory.”

The Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK’s data watchdog, also supported O’Carroll’s argument in the case, explaining that “people have the right to object to their personal information being used for direct marketing.”

The Information Commissioner’s Office also adds that Instagram and Facebook users should have an “opt-out” from their data being used to create targeted ads.

According to a report in The Guardian, the settlement in the privacy case could likely set a precedent for millions of social media users in the U.K. Meta says it is now considering charging UK users for an ad-free version of its platforms after the legal agreement that avoided a trial in the high court in London.

Meta tells The Guardian that it “fundamentally” disagrees with O’Carroll’s claims and took its obligations under the UK’s privacy law, GDPR, seriously. The company is weighing the option of introducing a subscription service in the UK, whereby users would pay a fee for an ad-free service. Ads account for over 96% of Meta’s revenue, according to the company’s latest quarterly financial results.

“We are exploring the option of offering people based in the U.K. a subscription and will share further information in due course,” Meta says.

O’Carroll tells TechCrunch that she is unable to disclose full details of the tracking-free access Meta will be providing in her case but she confirmed that she will not have to pay Meta.

This paid model in the U.K. will likely follow the subscription model that was introduced in the European Union (EU). Facebook and Instagram users in the EU have been able to pay for a subscription model to avoid ads on their feeds since October 2023.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.