Win for publishers as ICO Confirm Consent or Pay models are legal
04 Feb 2025

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published new guidance clarifying that ‘Consent or Pay’ models are legal in the UK. This guidance provides much-needed clarity for publishers and organisations relying on digital revenue models, confirming that businesses can lawfully offer users a choice between consenting to data use for personalised advertising or paying for an ad-free experience.
The guidance states:
“We recognise that the right to the protection of personal data needs to be balanced against other rights, such as the right to conduct a business. Organisations should be able to conduct business and monetise products or services with the funding models that best suit them. This recognises the fact that there is no obligation for providers of online services to offer their services for free. However, organisations must conduct their processing in line with data protection law. We also want to empower members of the public to confidently participate in a thriving and sustainable digital economy. When enjoying the benefits of online services, people should be confident that organisations will protect their information and comply with the law.”
The DMA has been actively engaging with the ICO and stakeholders to ensure that the guidance reflects a balanced approach, supporting both consumer rights and the needs of businesses. This development is a significant win for publishers, who have historically relied on subscription models as a core part of their business since the inception of the publishing industry.
Beyond clarifying the legality of ‘Consent or Pay’ models, the ICO’s new guidance offers advice on how organisations should approach transparency, user choice, and data protection in online tracking practices in general. As the DMA has long advocated, new guidance must emphasise the importance of clear, accessible information about how personal data is processed, ensuring that users can make informed decisions.
The guidance also highlights the need for organisations to avoid manipulative consent mechanisms, such as dark patterns, and stresses that consent must always be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous.
We will continue to work closely with the ICO to provide our members with practical support on how to implement these models in line with data protection laws.
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