EU Commission:

Facebook & Insta payment model breaks EU law

Monday's statement is a further step in the proceedings against Meta under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

(Bild: AFP)

The EU Commission has made further accusations against the US digital company Meta. With its payment model on the Facebook and Instagram platforms, the company is in breach of EU competition law.

This was announced by the Commission in a preliminary statement on Monday. Brussels assumes that Meta forces its users to disclose personal data and thus collects large amounts of data that give the company a competitive advantage.

Users can "buy their way out" of advertising
Meta introduced a paid subscription option for Facebook and Instagram in November: Users can pay a monthly fee of at least €9.99 if they no longer want to see ads on Facebook and Instagram. Only those who accept personalized ads can continue to use the networks for free. The EU data protection authority EDPB had already declared this model inadmissible for consumer protection reasons in April.

The Commission has now agreed with this assessment. The subscription model "forces users to consent to the processing of their personal data and deprives them of a less personalized but equivalent version of Meta's social networks", the competition regulators explained. Users of the Facebook and Instagram platforms are therefore not free to decide whether Meta may use their data for personalized advertising.

Market power too great
Due to the wide reach of the two platforms, Meta has been able to impose any terms and conditions on users and thus accumulate large amounts of data, the Commission went on to explain. This has given the group "potential advantages over competitors who do not have access to such a large amount of data". In addition to the consumer protection concerns, Brussels therefore assumes that Meta is in breach of EU competition law.

Monday's statement is a further step in the proceedings against Meta under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), with which the EU aims to limit the market power of large digital groups. The Commission must complete its investigation by the end of March next year. As a result, Meta could face fines of up to ten percent of its global annual turnover - measured against last year, this would correspond to a maximum fine of around 12.5 billion euros.