United Kingdom: Information Commissioner's Office publishes guidance on consent or pay advertising models

On 20 October 2025, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) published guidance on “consent or pay” advertising models in the United Kingdom. The guidance defines “consent or pay” as a business model funding online services by offering users a choice. Under consent or pay, a user may consent to personal information use for personalised advertising, pay a fee to access the service without personalised advertising, or not use the service. Organisations present this choice upon accessing their platform. If users accept personalised advertising, targeted ads are delivered based on a profile formed from provided data (e.g., age), observed data (activity), and inferred data (assumptions). Opting to pay a fee means personal information must not be used for targeted advertising, though contextual advertising may still appear. The guidance states that “consent or pay” models can comply with data protection law, provided consent for personalised advertising is freely given. Organisations must transparently explain how personal information will be utilised for this purpose. Consent given under this model cannot extend to unrelated uses of personal information, which require separate consent requests. Users retain the right to withdraw consent for personalised advertising at any time through an easy mechanism. Upon withdrawal, the organisation may revert to the initial “consent or pay” choice, requiring the user to pay or leave the service. The right to object to direct marketing can be addressed via the same process. Complaints regarding unfair options or non-compliant models should initially be directed to the organisation, with unresolved issues reported to the ICO.