Facebook is said to research ad-free subscription-based version

Attendees wait in line to enter the Facebook Spaces display during the F8 Developers Conference in San Jose, California, U.S., on Tuesday, May 1, 2018. Zuckerberg said that he learned, while testifying in front of Congress last month, that he didn't have clear enough answers to questions about data and Facebook should offer users this kind of option to control their information. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Facebook Inc has been conducting market research in recent weeks to determine whether an ad-free version paid by subscriptions would spur more people to join the social network, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The company has studied such an option in the past, but now there’s more internal momentum to pursue it in light of Facebook’s recent privacy data scandal, the people said. The plans aren’t solid and may not go forward, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.