Introducing Pay or Consent on Mumsnet

[BeckyAMumsnet]

Hello everyone.

We wanted to give you a heads-up about a change in the way we deal with cookie consent. We are introducing a Pay or Consent model, giving you two different options to continue accessing the site:

1. Continue for free with cookies and ads: this is the option that most people have enabled already.
2. Subscribe to Mumsnet Premium: For those who prefer an ad-free experience with no cookies/tracking for ad purposes - Besides ad-free you’ll also get first access to our product tests plus all revenues from Premium are put towards our campaigning work

Why are we making this change?

The pay or consent model is becoming increasingly common across online platforms as publishers adapt to changes in advertising levels and data privacy regulations. Like many other publishers, we relied on advertising to generate income but changes in tracking regulation and the growing use of ad blockers have made this model less viable.

We know that Mumsnet is an essential space for many - a place to seek advice, find support, and connect with your fellow Mumsnetters. That’s why we’re committed to ensuring that the site remains free at the point of use for anyone who needs it but it’s not fair that those who install ad blockers or rejected cookies are piggy backing on the back of other users who haven’t.

At the same time as introducing this, we’re going to reduce the price of Mumsnet Premium to £2.99 a month because we want to be fair to those who’d rather not accept advertising cookies. This is less than the cost of a flat white a month from most decent coffee shops and we very much hope you think Mumsnet’s worth it! Nb anyone who’s signed up to Mumsnet Premium already at the previous price (£4.99 per month) will have their payments reduced within the next week or so.

We’ll be here to answer any questions you may have. Thank you, as always, for supporting Mumsnet.

@BeckyAMumsnet
I'm still waiting for an answer. When will this pay or we will block you system start please?
I currently click on continue for free and let my device block ads & cookies so I don't get them. WHEN WILL THIS CHANGE TO SUBS OR BE FLOODED WITH ADS & HAVE YOUR DATA HARVESTED REGARDLESS????? We deserve to know please MN.

By the way while I typed that message my ad blocker blocked 29 ads - 29!

It's been two hours and noone has "been here to answer any questions you might have" in fact not a single response.

This is exactly the problem. I enable ads on many sites to support them. I turn them off when the ads make the site actively unpleasant to use. I also sometimes need to use accessibility aids which are frequently blocked by poorly managed ad supply chains.

Other small sites manage to do this without making their sites look like they have been built by the proverbial 13 years on Geocities.

I've no doubt some people will leave. Presumably that cost is already calculated to be cheaper than fixing the numerous issues with ads on this site. If the vulnerable and people with access issues suffer - well so be it.

From the ICO:

In principle, data protection law does not prohibit business models that involve “consent or pay”. However, any organisation considering such a model must be careful to ensure that consent to processing of personal information for personalised advertising has been freely given and is fully informed, as well as capable of being withdrawn without detriment.
We are still considering our position, but the basic issue with consent or pay models is whether the consent for personalised advertising is freely given.

Whether this is 'freely given' as refusing to pay means you cannot opt-out, and can no longer access information you have given, is dubious.

Its already been implemented. I don't know if its rolled out across all users.

Because everybody (except the prefects) were so mean and horrid to the Head Girl yesterday, I expect!

It's In Settings at the bottom of the page.

LOL, I participate in many online forums and this is the first time I get asked to do something like this.

First time I've seen the pop-up and then this thread was top of active. I'm going against the grain here but probably representative of most users - I'm not really bothered, I'll just stay. I don't think mumsnet would get much money for the standard of free content I provide for them but others are free to try to charge for their brilliance I suppose.

Absolutely, if they dared to share their site stats it would be illuminating to see how much traffic is on the forum vs the rest of the site, most people aren't coming on just to look at product reviews and leave, there's very little content generated by the MN team, and even that is half paid for by sponsors.
We are the equivalent of the journalists on the Mail etc, I'm sure they aren't paying to access the content themselves.

I totally support things like sponsored content for them to try and make money from the visitors to the site, it's their site, if they want to produce some guff about why this pram is amazing then fair play but forcing the main content producers to also pay for consuming the content is nuts. If people are producing content for free that then attracts cash, maybe don't piss off the cash cow just for the chance of more.

Whoever MN have been using PR wise for the past couple of years, they need sacking!

They are sincerely lacking in awareness if they thought this would go down well. They probably think we will all kick and scream for a bit and then comply. I can just hear them saying "give them some time to have their little tantrums"

Yes, I have a similar innings.

I cannot fathom why MNHQ think today is a good time to announce this? Is it because the site is insecure without us all paying, if so make it a premium site and pay only.

I've been here for over a decade (many usernames, new account after a data breach) and I'll be leaving if this is implemented. I don't mind whitelisting sites with unobtrusive adverts. I do not consent to tracking cookies and don't use sites that don't let me reject them.

This is a terrible decision.

It's already here. If you click out and in again it will give you the pay or no pay options.

But there seem to be no ads loading on this thread. However, they are still there on others. So those freeloaders who say their adblocker is still working because they can't see any here - could you check other threads and let those of us you are piggybacking on know? (Because we are oblivious to your user experience and hey, that's OK!)

Inducing migraine is an accessibility issue, imo. The same repetitive flashing that can trigger epilepsy in some people triggers migraines for me, and I don't want to be sick for hours or even days just because I want to use a website.

@C8H10N4O2
The pop-up that you get at the moment does still allow you to use blockers effectively but from what I understood from this 'notice' is that soon when you access the site you will hit a 'pay wall' unless you subscribe or click to accept ads + cookies. If you try to use for free and use blockers then your access will be blocked - that is my understanding of the announcement. Obviously, if I am misunderstanding this then please come back and correct me @BeckyAMumsnet.

This is very good point. We've been advised by mnhq not to use our usual email addresses because they could easily be compromised, but now they want our bank details? No thank you.

Could someone please explain what happened last night that was a security risk?

From a commercial POV there's probably no need; the overall view seems quite clear, but all that'll count is what happens to footfall and thus revenue

And while those who choose to leave aren't obliged to announce it I'm quite sure HQ will be tabulating those who've done so to see if it actually happens

I have no idea what a ad blocker is, nor how to implement one

but your thread has reminded me to clear my cookies :)

so thanks for that.

Totally get the need to earn ad revenue.

But your way of doing it is shite.

The ads take over the site and make it unusable. It's like you learned ad programming from the same people who run Reach media sites.

It's not a good end user experience.

You would do well to look at Reddit. They have ads. But they blend into the feed and don't dominate the user experience.

I don't mind adverts (I'm on the app and don't seem to have the technical issues some people describe with the website), I understand that adverts are how sites make their money. MN ads do seem awful though - those fake domestic violence type ones a few months ago with a photoshopped female celebrity with a bruised/cut face and a clickbait headline.

I won't use any site with a "pay or consent" model though.

FFS this is ridiculous. Can users opt out afterwards via privacy settings like you say they can or is this now fake?

FFS read this @BeckyAMumsnet
Are you really so intent on alienating not only a considerable number of MNers as demonstrated on here but also depriving a large number who greatly value the support, encouragement and help on threads such as the cancer, relationships and children ones?
this is unbelievably crass .