Meta’s “pay or consent” model requires users to either enable the processing of their personal data or pay a monthly fee.
advertisementThe European Commission believes that Meta’s binary decision to force citizens to either pay a fee or provide their data to use the service does not comply with the Digital Markets Act (DSA), a landmark European Union law aimed at curbing the excesses of power of big tech companies and ensuring fairer competition in the digital world.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is designated a “gatekeeper” under the DSA, which means it is subject to stricter obligations.
In response to this law, Meta introduced a new advertising system in November 2023 that asks users to choose between two options:
- The app is free to use but allows processing of your data.
- It will stop processing your data, but you can pay a monthly fee to use the app without ads.
In its preliminary findings published on Monday, the European Commission said the alternative was not compliant with the DMA because it “forces users to consent to the combining of their personal data and does not offer them a comparable, but less personalized, version of the Meta social network.”
This means that access to app features will depend on the user’s choices.
“Gatekeepers cannot make the use of services or specific features conditional on users’ consent,” the Commission said.
An intermediate model, where Meta customers who don’t consent to data tracking could enjoy a similar service without personalized ads, would be Brussels’ preferred option.
If the preliminary findings are confirmed, the Commission will have the right to adopt a non-compliance decision, which could lead to a fine of up to 10% of Meta’s total global turnover.
Such a scenario could be avoided if it provides companies with corrective measures to align their business models with the DMA provisions.
Euronews has reached out to Meta for comment.
Personal data is an extremely valuable asset for digital companies. It allows them to offer advertisers a customized path to potential consumers. Meta derives more than 95% of its revenue from advertising.
