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Meta is violating EU Digital Markets Act, says Commission
Downward Angle Icon An icon shaped like an angle pointing downward. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg received bad news from the EU on Monday. Matt McClain/Getty Images
- It’s not a good day for Goal in the EU.
- The European Commission says Meta’s “pay or consent” advertising model violates the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
- The EU previously said Apple also violated the rule.
By Mark Zuckerberg Meta has just received some bad news in the European Union.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, on Monday announced its preliminary findings that Meta’s “pay or consent” advertising model violates bloc rules Digital Markets Act.
Meta introduced the model in the EU in 2023 after European regulators ruled in 2022 that Meta must allow users to opt out of receiving personalized ads based on their activity on its social platforms. The model requires users to pay a monthly fee to avoid seeing ads on Facebook and Instagram or receive personalized ads to continue using a free version.
On Monday, EU regulators said: “In the Commission’s preliminary view, this binary choice forces users to consent to the combination of their personal data and does not provide them with a less personalized but equivalent version of Meta’s social networks,” the commission said on Monday.
Meta now has the chance to respond in writing to the preliminary findings. The commission will wrap up its investigation within 12 months of when it began on March 25.
If the regulator finds Meta to be non-compliant, it could face fines of up to 10% of its global revenue.
A Meta spokesperson said: “The ad-free subscription follows the direction of Europe’s highest court and is in line with the DMA. We look forward to a constructive dialogue with the European Commission to bring this investigation to a close.”
Last year, Meta also came under regulatory scrutiny in the EU when it was fined $1.3 billion to transfer Facebook user data to the US.
Meta is not the first tech giant to be accused of violating the DMA, which went into effect in March.
The European Commission recently reported Litter of its preliminary findings that the company’s App Store rules violate the DMA because “they prevent app developers from freely directing consumers to alternative channels for offers and content.”