Readers of some of the biggest news websites in the U.K. are faced with a choice: accept tracking cookies so advertisers can make money or pay for privacy. In a model being dubbed “consent or pay,” news providers are attempting to ensure their healthy audience figures are translating into profit in an industry that relies heavily on advertising to keep the lights on.
Want to read online news produced by the Rupert Murdoch-owned title The Sun but not accept advertising cookies? Such privacy-minded readers will have to pay £4.99 ($6.50) per month for the privilege. Likewise, fans of reporting by the Mirror and Daily Express — titles owned by Reach plc, one of the U.K.’s biggest newspaper groups — can skip having their data shared with advertisers by purchasing a Privacy Plus package priced at £1.99 ($2.60) per month.
