London
CNN
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Facebook parent Meta has been accused of breaking Europe’s new digital competition rules over its “pay or consent” advertising model.
Late last year, Meta (META) launched a service called “Subscription for no ads,” allowing European users of Facebook and Instagram to pay up to €12.99 ($14) a month for ad-free versions. The alternative is to accept versions with personalized ads.
The European Commission said in a statement Monday that, in its preliminary view, “this binary choice forces users to consent to the (use) of their personal data and fails to provide them a less personalized but equivalent version of Meta’s social networks.”
If the provisional findings of the Commission’s investigation are confirmed, the EU could hit Meta with a fine equivalent to 10% of its global annual revenue under its landmark Digital Markets Act.
“’Subscription for no ads’ follows the direction of the highest court in Europe and complies with the DMA,” a Meta company spokesperson told CNN. “We look forward to further constructive dialogue with the European Commission to bring this investigation to a close.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.