Meta accused of breaking European law with its ‘pay or consent’ model

Facebook parent Meta has been accused of breaking Europe’s new digital competition rules over its “pay or consent” advertising model.

Facebook parent Meta has been accused of breaking Europe’s new digital competition rules over its “pay or consent” advertising model. Late last year, Meta (META) launched a service called “Subscription for no ads,” allowing European users of Facebook and Instagram to pay up to €12.99 ($14) a month for ad-free versions. The alternative is to accept versions with personalized ads. The European Commission said in a statement Monday that, in its preliminary view, “this binary choice forces users to consent to the (use) of their personal data and fails to provide them a less personalized but equivalent version of Meta’s social networks.” If the provisional findings of the Commission’s investigation are confirmed, the EU could hit Meta with a fine equivalent to 10% of its global annual revenue under its landmark Digital Markets Act. Based on the company’s 2023 results, that would amount to $13.5 billion. Meta said it didn’t accept the Commission’s findings. “’Subscription for no ads’ follows the direction of the highest court in Europe and complies with the DMA,” a spokesperson told CNN. “We look forward to further constructive dialogue with the European Commission to bring this investigation to a close.”