Meta accused of failing to comply with EU technology regulations

Author: Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators on Monday accused Meta Platforms of failing to comply with groundbreaking technology rules. These regulations criticized the recently introduced advertising model requiring payment or consent.

The US tech giant launched an ad-free subscription service for Facebook and Instagram in Europe last November, saying that users who consent to tracking will receive a free service funded by advertising revenue.

The European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, said the binary choice violates the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to curb the power of big tech companies. It sent its preliminary findings to Meta.

Binary choice was found to force users to consent to the linking of their personal information and did not provide them with a less personalized but equivalent version of Meta’s social networks.

“We want to empower citizens to take control of their own data and opt out of less personalised advertising,” EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Reuters was the first to report that the EU competition law enforcement body would accuse Meta of failing to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The charges against Meta come a week after the EU watchdog issued its first DMA charge against Apple for failing to comply with the new rule.

(Report by Foo Yun Chee)