Meta Platforms was charged by EU antitrust regulators on Monday for failing to comply with landmark tech rules as they took aim at its newly introduced pay or consent advertising model.
The US tech giant launched the no-ads subscription service for Facebook and Instagram in Europe last November, saying users who consent to be tracked get a free service which is funded by advertising revenues.
The European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, said the binary choice breaches the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA) which seeks to rein in the power of Big Tech, as it sent its preliminary finding to Meta.
It said the binary choice forces users to consent to the combination of their personal data and fails to provide them with a less personalised but equivalent version of Meta's social networks.
“We want to empower citizens to be able to take control over their own data and choose a less personalised ads experience,” EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said.
The charge against Meta came a week after the EU watchdog issued its first DMA charge against Apple for not complying with the new rule.
Meta charged with failing to comply with EU tech rules
Image: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Meta Platforms was charged by EU antitrust regulators on Monday for failing to comply with landmark tech rules as they took aim at its newly introduced pay or consent advertising model.
The US tech giant launched the no-ads subscription service for Facebook and Instagram in Europe last November, saying users who consent to be tracked get a free service which is funded by advertising revenues.
The European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, said the binary choice breaches the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA) which seeks to rein in the power of Big Tech, as it sent its preliminary finding to Meta.
It said the binary choice forces users to consent to the combination of their personal data and fails to provide them with a less personalised but equivalent version of Meta's social networks.
“We want to empower citizens to be able to take control over their own data and choose a less personalised ads experience,” EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said.
The charge against Meta came a week after the EU watchdog issued its first DMA charge against Apple for not complying with the new rule.
Meta's WhatsApp down for thousands, Downdetector shows
Meta’s Facebook, Instagram back up after global outage
Meta's Facebook, Instagram down for hundreds of thousands of users across globe
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos