On 17 April 2024, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published its much awaited Opinion on the lawfulness under the GDPR of the so called “pay or consent” models implemented by large online platforms(1) (hereafter, EDPB Opinion) – i.e., when users of such services are asked either to consent to the processing of their personal data for behavioral advertising purposes to access the service for free, or to pay a fee for an ads free version of the service. In a nutshell, the EDPB took the view that in most cases, large online platforms(2) will not be able to satisfy the requirements for valid consent if users have to choose between consenting to processing of personal data for behavioral advertising purposes or paying a fee(3).