, Columnist
The Reason Facebook Won't Offer a Paid Option
The social network's business model depends on highly targeted advertising.
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During Facebook Inc.'s latest crisis, an idea has resurfaced for trying to make the social network less harmful and creepy: Give people the option to pay for an advertising-free version.
Members of Congress might ask Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about this idea in back-to-back grilling sessions this week. Switching to a paid subscription model is on the list of questions Bloomberg Gadfly and Bloomberg View suggested to members of Congress for Zuckerberg's coming hearings.