Contentpass Calls on European Data Protection Board (EDPB) to Provide Clarity for "Consent or Pay" Models

Press Release, Berlin, October 6, 2025

Contentpass, Europe's leading provider of a user-centric, ad- and tracking-free "Consent or Pay" solution, is calling on the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) to urgently adopt its long-awaited position on the permissibility of "Consent or Pay" models at its meeting on October 8, 2025.

Although the EDPB adopted an Opinion in April 2024 (Opinion 08/2024) on the validity of consent in the context of "Consent or Pay" models for large online platforms, emphasizing genuine choice and an appropriate fee, legal uncertainty continues to persist for all other market participants in a multitude of European member states. In contrast, the UK's ICO has issued binding guidelines.

"The uncertainty surrounding 'Consent or Pay' models has reached an untenable state for the majority of European publishers," explains Dirk Freytag, CEO of Contentpass. "It is crucial that the EDPB promptly presents clear, uniform, and practical guidelines for the entire European market to preserve free access to journalistic content on the web.

With Contentpass, consumers get ad- and tracking-free access to over 600 sites across Europe for €3.99 per month. "We urgently need a blueprint that ensures digital services in Europe remain financially viable while upholding users' rights to a genuine, data protection-compliant alternative," Freytag adds.

Contentpass considers the following points urgently in need of clarification:

• Validity of consent: A binding clarification of the criteria for "voluntary" consent under GDPR in the context of "Consent or Pay" models, particularly with regard to the appropriateness of the fee and the equivalence of alternatives, is necessary.

• Comprehensive applicability: Clarification for all market participants – from publishers to smaller service providers – is essential to resolve the patchwork of national approaches.

• Future-proofing for innovative solutions: Innovative and privacy-friendly models like Contentpass, which offer cross-website solutions, need legal certainty to continue providing a sustainable financing basis for ad-free content and to enable users to make simple and fair choices.

Contentpass fundamentally supports the concept of giving users a free choice between consenting to data processing for personalized advertising purposes and a paid, ad- and tracking-free alternative. This is based on the confirmation by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in its 2024 ruling. The key factor is that the choice must be genuine and free.

We therefore call on the EDPB to take this important step on October 8, 2025, and finally provide the necessary legal clarity for a fair and data protection-compliant digital market in Europe.

About Contentpass

Contentpass offers a privacy-friendly flat rate that gives users ad- and tracking-free access to a growing network of currently 600 websites in 23 countries for a low monthly fee. The company sees itself as a fair alternative to personalized advertising such as tracking and is committed to a transparent and user-friendly internet that balances user privacy with the economic necessities of digital services.

Press Contact: Dirk Freytag, press@contentpass.de

Image: Dirk Freytag

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