Paid advertising model Meta in the spotlight for breaches of EU tech rules

JAKARTA – Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook, is being accused by the European Union’s antitrust regulator of violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA) through its recently introduced paid or negotiated advertising model. The model allows users to choose between consenting to tracking for free services funded by advertising or paying for services without ads.

The European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, said the binary’s choice violated EU rules because it forced users to consent to the linking of their personal data without providing a less personalized but equivalent version of the Meta social network.

“We want to give citizens the power to control their own data and opt for less personalised advertising,” EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Meta says its model complies with the ruling by Europe’s highest court and is DMA compliant. The company hopes to end the investigation through constructive dialogue with the European Commission.

If found guilty, Meta could be fined up to 10% of its annual global turnover. The charges come after similar action against Apple under the DMA, underscoring the continued scrutiny of big tech companies in Europe over data privacy and market dominance.

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