EU Charges Meta with Breaching Antitrust Rules
The European Commission has charged Meta with violating the EU's Digital Markets Act through its new 'pay or consent' ad-supported service. This model requires users to either pay a fee or consent to data usage for ads, but fails to offer a less personalized equivalent. Meta faces penalties of up to one dollar13.4 billion for non-compliance.
The European Commission has charged Meta, the parent company of Facebook, with violating the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) through its new ad-supported social networking service.
According to the Commission, Meta's 'pay or consent' advertising model does not comply with the DMA as it forces users to either pay a subscription fee or consent to their data being used for targeted advertising.
This policy fails to provide users with a less personalized but equivalent version of Meta's social networks.
Meta, which rolled out the new model last November, stated that it follows the direction of the highest court in Europe and complies with the DMA.
The EC, however, disagrees and asserts that Meta's model infringes on users' ability to control their data.
This is part of the EU's broader crackdown on anti-competitive practices by large digital companies under the DMA, which came into force in March and targets Big Tech.
Companies that violate these rules may face significant penalties, potentially up to 10% of their global annual revenue or 20% for repeated offenses.
In Meta's case, this could amount to as much as one dollar13.4 billion.
According to the Commission, Meta's 'pay or consent' advertising model does not comply with the DMA as it forces users to either pay a subscription fee or consent to their data being used for targeted advertising.
This policy fails to provide users with a less personalized but equivalent version of Meta's social networks.
Meta, which rolled out the new model last November, stated that it follows the direction of the highest court in Europe and complies with the DMA.
The EC, however, disagrees and asserts that Meta's model infringes on users' ability to control their data.
This is part of the EU's broader crackdown on anti-competitive practices by large digital companies under the DMA, which came into force in March and targets Big Tech.
Companies that violate these rules may face significant penalties, potentially up to 10% of their global annual revenue or 20% for repeated offenses.
In Meta's case, this could amount to as much as one dollar13.4 billion.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
