According to the European Commission, Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, has breached the EU’s new digital law with its advertising strategy. This model involved charging users for access to ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram.
Last year, Meta introduced a “pay or consent” system to comply with EU data privacy regulations. Under this model, users could pay a monthly fee to use Facebook and Instagram without ads and with their personal data not utilized for advertising. Non-paying users agree to have their data used for personalized ads during the signing-up process.
The European Commission, the executive body of the EU, stated that this model does not align with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) created to regulate big tech companies. The Commission’s initial findings of the “Pay or Consent” investigation revealed that this model coerces users into consenting to data collection across various platforms. Additionally, users are not given the option to choose services that use less data but are similar to the ad-supported versions of Facebook and Instagram.
The Commission expressed that this alternative does not offer users a comparable less personalized version of the Meta network, forcing them to agree to data integration. To comply with the DMA, Meta would need to launch a version of Facebook or Instagram using less user data.
In response, a Meta spokesperson mentioned that the new model was designed to adhere to regulatory requirements such as the DMA. They highlighted that subscriptions as an alternative to advertising are a common business model and were implemented to address various obligations.
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The European Commission is required to complete its investigation by the end of March next year. Meta may face fines of up to 10% of its global turnover, amounting to $13.5 billion (£10.5 billion). The Commission recently found Apple guilty of violating the DMA by impeding competition in its app store.
Source: www.theguardian.com
