Meta’s pay-or-consent model could lead to daily fines, EU warns
Global News
The move shows the European Commission's continuing crackdown against Big Tech and its push to create a level playing field for smaller rivals despite U.S. criticism.
Meta Platforms may face daily fines if EU regulators decide the changes it has proposed to its pay-or-consent model fail to comply with an antitrust order issued in April, they said on Friday.
The warning from the European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, came two months after it slapped a 200-million-euro (US$234 million) fine on the U.S. social media giant for breaching the Digital Markets Act (DMA) aiming at curbing the power of Big Tech.
The move shows the Commission’s continuing crackdown against Big Tech and its push to create a level playing field for smaller rivals despite U.S. criticism about the bloc’s rules mainly targeting its companies.
Daily fines for not complying with the DMA can be as much as five per cent of a company’s average daily worldwide turnover.
The EU executive said Meta’s pay-or-consent model introduced in November 2023 breached the DMA in the period up to November 2024, when it tweaked it to use less personal data for targeted advertising. The Commission has been scrutinizing the changes since then.
The model gives Facebook and Instagram users who consent to be tracked a free service that is funded by advertising revenues. Alternatively, they can pay for an ad-free service.
The EU competition watchdog said Meta will only make limited changes to its pay-or-consent model rolled out last November.
“The Commission cannot confirm at this stage if these are sufficient to comply with the main parameters of compliance outlined in its non-compliance Decision,” a spokesperson said.
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