In an appearance on NBC’s Today Show, Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, indirectly suggested that users of the platform who don’t want to share their personal information might have to pay for it. She said the service offers opt-outs at various levels, but there is no universal ad opt-out. “That would be a paid product,” Sandberg said.
This report came to the fore again when Mark Zuckerberg spoke before the Senate and had some interesting ideas to share.
During the testimony, Senator Orrin Hatch reminded Zuckerberg of his first visit to the U.S. Capitol in 2010, where he said Facebook would always be free. “Is that still your goal?” Hatch asked.
To that question, Zuckerberg promised that there will always be a free version of Facebook. “It’s our mission to try to help connect people around the world and bring the world closer together,” he said.
His answer to another question was that Facebook does not currently offer the option for the user to pay to not display ads.
In his responses, specifically mentioning a "free version" of Facebook, Zuckerberg did not rule out the possibility of a paid version.
While Facebook may never ultimately release a paid version, recent statements from the company's CEO and COO certainly indicate that it's something they could consider.
