Meta holds an important place in European antitrust law, joining Apple and Microsoft

Image for article titled First Apple and Microsoft. Now Meta is in Europe's antitrust hot seat — Photo: : Alex Wong (Getty’s paintings)

The European Union said on Monday that Meta’s “pay or agree” advertising model violates a new digital competition law that both Apple AND Microsoft were also nailed for that.

This year, Apple has patched many security holes in its devices.

European Union he said Meta’s policy “forces users to consent to the connection of their personal data and does not provide them with a less personalized but equivalent version of Meta’s social networks,” which is inconsistent with the Digital Markets Act.

Meta created the “pay or agree” model in response to EU regulatory changes, allowing Facebook and Instagram users in Europe to choose between a paid ad-free version of the service or a free version with personalized ads. However, the EU said this did not go far enough because it “does not allow users to choose a service that uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the ‘personalized ads’ service.”

If the Commission ultimately finds that Meta has breached the DMA rules, the company could be fined 10% of its worldwide revenue. Repeated violations of the law could increase the fine to as much as 20%.

A final decision must be made by March 25, 2025 or 12 months after Regulators Launch Investigation into Tech Companies’ Compliance with DMA Rules.

“Our investigation aims to ensure competitiveness in markets where gatekeepers like Meta have been collecting the personal data of millions of EU citizens for many years,” Margrethe Vestager, executive vice president for competition policy, said in a statement. “Our initial view is that Meta’s advertising model is not compliant with the Digital Markets Act. We want to empower citizens to take control of their own data and choose less personalized advertising.”

Last month, the EU accused Apple of failing to comply with the law by preventing app developers from freely directing consumers to alternative ways to make purchases.

In June, the company also said Microsoft violated the law by including Teams in Microsoft 365 — even though consumers I don’t have a plan for this service — or by providing a free one-year trial of Office 365, Microsoft is harming competition.