It was a cold Parisian day in 1948 when privacy became a recognized human right. As our lives become increasingly digitalized, new laws have popped up across the world to draw a line on the restless abuse of our data online. Now, in the worst capitalistic dystopian nightmare, the concept of privacy as a commodity has taken a sinister turn - alas, the privacy paywall.
The so-called 'Pay or Consent' or 'Pay or OK' model has made its first steps across some news publications in the EU, with Meta being the most controversial case. Companies are pushing the boundaries of the GDPR provisions on user consent. Needless to say, legal complaints have stormed the attempt to establish what's been deemed as "privacy for the rich." The social media behemoth even paused its new pay-for-ads-free plan for the European market.
