Today, noyb filed a complaint against Meta with the Austrian data protection authority. European users now have the “choice” to either consent to being tracked for personalized advertising – or pay up to €251.88 a year to retain their fundamental right to data protection on Instagram and Facebook. 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 decide against a payment when faced with a “privacy fee”. If Meta gets away with this, competitors will soon follow in its footsteps. Given that the average phone has 35 apps installed, keeping your phone private could soon cost around € 8,815 a year.