Following the European Commission’s preliminary ruling of Apple, Meta is the next big tech company accused of violating the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). This charge centers on the company’s “pay or consent” model, which is said to have breached the DMA. If ultimately proven culpable, Meta could be slapped with a big fine as a result.
In compliance with the deployment of DMA last year, Meta launched a “subscription for no ads” for its Facebook and Instagram users in the region. This removes ads and disables data sharing for those who will pay a monthly subscription when using both services. Meanwhile, the alternative option is free usage of these apps, but users are required to give consent to the company to use their data for personalized ads.
The latest findings of the EU’s regulatory body explained this scheme breaches the DMA in two ways. First, the model doesn’t provide users with an option to use the apps with less shared data points. Secondly, the Commission said it “does not allow users to exercise their right to freely consent.”
Rather, the EU argued Meta should allow users who didn’t agree with its terms to be given access to their services, but only utilizing part of their data when providing personalized ads.
The “Pay or Consent” advertising model of Meta fails to comply with the Digital Markets Act.
Our preliminary findings show that this choice forces users to consent to the combination of their personal data and fails to provide them a less personalised but equivalent version of… pic.twitter.com/KJPNfQ71a1
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) July 1, 2024
In line with the preliminary ruling, Meta released a statement to the media, reiterating how it tweaked its guidelines to comply with the DMA. “We look forward to further constructive dialogue with the European Commission to bring this investigation to a close,” it added.
The social media giant provider was given a chance to defend itself concerning these early findings. On the other hand, the Commission plans to announce the final ruling on March 25, 2025, a year after the investigation was opened. If found guilty, Meta could be fined 10 percent of its annual global revenue.
Apart from Meta and Apple, the European Commission also launched an investigation into Google. However, the initial findings have yet to be published.
What is your opinion of the preliminary charges that the EU accused big tech companies of? Do you think that will eventually benefit users in the long run? We want to hear your thoughts in the comments.
