EU Prepares to Charge Meta Over ‘Pay or Consent’ Model, FT Reports

99

The European Union is gearing up to accuse Meta, the parent company of Facebook, of violating the bloc’s significant digital regulations, according to a report from the Financial Times citing sources familiar with the matter on Monday.

Regulators are expected to issue preliminary findings this week, expressing concerns about Meta’s “pay or consent” approach. This model, implemented for Facebook and Instagram’s no-ads subscription service in Europe since November, offers users a choice: consent to tracking for targeted advertising to use the service for free, or pay to opt out of data sharing.

The FT report indicates that regulators are troubled by the perception that Meta’s offering presents a false choice, potentially pressuring users financially into agreeing to have their personal data tracked for advertising purposes.

Meta and the European Commission did not respond immediately to requests for comment from Reuters.

This development follows recent charges by EU antitrust regulators against Apple for breaching the bloc’s tech rules under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA aims to curb the dominance of ‘Big Tech’ companies and ensure fair competition for smaller players. If found guilty of DMA violations, companies could face fines up to 10% of their global annual turnover.

The charge against Apple marks the EU Commission’s first action under the DMA, focusing on new fees imposed on app developers, alongside another ongoing investigation into the tech giant’s practices.

The outcomes of these cases could significantly impact how major tech firms operate within the European market, influencing future regulatory actions and industry practices.