TikTok is exploring the option of a monthly subscription that would eliminate ads from the video-sharing platform.
The BBC is aware that the Chinese enterprise is experimenting with the service in a non-American English-speaking area, but has not revealed precisely which market.
The subscription is being trialled at a cost of $4.99 (£4.13).
Meta is apparently considering offering subscriptions without ads for individuals from the EU in order to comply with the EU's advertising regulations.
Adverts tailored to individual users over the age of 18 are currently being displayed on TikTok.
TechCrunch, the news website, stated that the test was on a limited basis and there was no guarantee that a subscription service would be released worldwide.
YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) provide users with the option of either reduced ads or no ads at all, for a monthly cost.
ByteDance, the parent firm of TikTok, does not report its financial figures openly, yet it has purportedly generated $85bn (£70bn) in sales in 2022.
The research firm Insider Intelligence estimates that TikTok brought in $9.98bn in ad revenue during the past year.
The Wall Street Journal states that Meta, the owner of both Facebook and Instagram, is planning on requiring payment from European users who decide to not have personalized ads appear on its platforms.
It has reportedly been communicated to EU regulators by Meta that a sum of approximately €10 (equivalent to £8.68) would be charged on a monthly basis to utilise either Instagram or Facebook, except with personalised adverts, on desktop. For mobile devices, the monthly cost is €13.
A representative of Meta commented to the BBC that the company values free services supported by tailored advertisements. Notwithstanding, they remain to investigate ways to remain in line with changing regulations. At the moment, they are unable to provide further information.
In August, after an EU decision, the company declared that it wanted to modify its conditions and secure permission from users to present advertisements using their private data.
The Irish Data Protection Commission fined it €390m in January.
The regulator asserted Facebook and Instagram could not take the stance that users must agree to how their data is utilized, or else they have to abandon the platform.
Professor Brooke Erin Duffy, of the Department of Communication at Cornell University, commented that younger viewers, who are familiar with using social media, could be disinclined to spend money to view material without ads.
She observed that users have been conditioned since the start to regard these platforms as offering 'free' services, therefore it's doubtful that particularly young people would select the fee-based, advertisement-free option.
Maddie Hill, a 22-year-old from the Orkney Islands and a contributor to The Social, a BBC Scotland digital platform, conveyed that ads on TikTok are less obtrusive compared to other platforms.
"I'm not particularly bothered by the ads I see when I'm checking out my For You page," she said. "They're usually quick and easy to get past, so they don't really mess up my viewing experience."
Maddie, having 800,000 followers on TikTok, stated: "I'm quite familiar with ads popping up on social media, so I'm no stranger to that."
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