Meta accused of violating EU technical rules regarding payment model or consent

On Monday, Meta Platforms was accused by EU antitrust regulators of failing to comply with groundbreaking technology rules as they took aim at the US company’s newly introduced payment or consent-based advertising model, which was already targeted by privacy and health regulators. activists’ anger.

The tech giant launched an ad-free subscription service on Facebook and Instagram in Europe last November, saying users who opted in to being tracked would get a free service funded by ad revenue. They could also pay for an ad-free service.

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.

Meta said its model complied with the ruling of Europe’s highest court.

“The ad-free subscription complies with the guidelines of the highest court in Europe and is compliant with the DMA. We look forward to continued constructive dialogue with the European Commission to conclude this investigation,” said a Meta spokesman.

Meta can modify its advertising model to avoid a fine of up to 10% of its global annual turnover if it is found guilty of DMA violations. The commission has until March next year to conclude its investigation.

Activists and privacy watchdogs also question Meta’s advertising model.

Reuters was the first to report that the EU competition enforcement authority would accuse Meta of non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act.

The accusation against Meta comes a week after the EU watchdog first charged Apple under the DMA for failing to comply with the new rule.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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