In response to regulatory scrutiny, Meta Platforms (META.O) is looking into paid versions of Facebook and Instagram for users in the European Union (EU) that do not contain adverts, the New York Times reported on Friday.

According to the article, which cited three sources with knowledge of the plans, those who pay for the subscriptions would not see adverts while Meta will still provide free versions of the applications with ads in the EU.

The report also stated that by providing customers with an alternative to the company's ad-based services, which depend on analyzing people's data, the potential move may help Meta overcome privacy concerns and other scrutiny from the EU.

The social media juggernaut has been the target of antitrust investigators from the EU, and it lost a legal battle in July against a German ruling that forbade it from gathering user data without their consent.

The pricing of the app's commercial editions remains unknown, according to the NYT story.

EU Digital Services Act takes effect, tighter laws for social media

On another occasion European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) took effect on August 25, targeting and thus impacting the operation of massive online platforms and search engines in EU member states. 

An initial list of 19 targets termed Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines, such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and others, will begin to see changes to policies as a result of the new rules. 

The new regulations entail stricter content moderation, tighter protection for minors, and transparent ad policies that will become a legal requirement to abide by. 

Platforms with over 45 million users in the EU will be required to submit detailed reports to the Commission of their major risks for users. If they fail to do so, they can be penalized with up to 6 percent of their global revenue.

One of the proclaimed objectives of the DSA is to fight disinformation. It also establishes new guidelines that all significant digital platforms must follow in order to combat police hate speech, misinformation, and counterfeit content online.