[orangecat]

Sure, the user is still "paying" with their data. But they didn't sign up for that. (And if they did, congrats, you're a step closer to GDPR compliance!)

The GDPR specifically forbids giving users the option of paying with data. (In that you can't deny access if the user doesn't agree to the data usage).

Charge. A. Fee.

It turns out that a whole lot of users don't want microtransactions for everything they do online, and would rather allow providers to monetize their data in exchange for access. You not liking those agreements is not a reasonable justification for forcibly banning them.