The Berlin-based company contentpass presents the Privacy Pass of the same name. It enables internet users to read digital, editorial content without advertising banners and the associated tracking.

The majority of free online services are financed by advertisements and the transfer of user-relevant data to third parties for advertising purposes. The European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) prohibits advertisers from using or passing on readers' data without their explicit consent. The contentpass is an alternative for publishers to data- and ad-financed remuneration. "We give readers of online media a real choice: they can either explicitly agree to their data being passed on, i.e. pay with their data as before, or surf with contentpass without advertising and tracking at a very fair price," says contentpass founder Dirk Freytag.

Co-founder Claudius Gerstner adds: "The GDPR is a great opportunity for publishers and other providers of digital content: In addition to the established and still possible advertising-based financing, publishers can once again rely on direct contributions from their readership and thus become less dependent on advertising giants such as Facebook and Google again." "In addition to protecting their privacy, the decisive factor for our users is simple handling and full cost control, because nobody wants to register individually with each news portal or be surprised by horrendous bills at the end of the month," Freytag continues.

WEKA BUSINESS MEDIEN also offers Privacy Pass. When you visit our websites, you can decide whether you want to "Continue reading with advertising" or "take out a contentpass subscription.