Targeted ‘pay or opt-in’ model breaches EU Digital Markets Act

On Monday, the European Commission concluded after a preliminary assessment that Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, uses a “pay or consent” model that violates European law by limiting users’ ability to consent to data.

In a statement, the community leader announced that after a preliminary investigation, he was able to conclude that Meta, the group that brings together major social networks including WhatsApp, had violated the Digital Markets Act with its “pay or consent” model.

This model assumes that social media users who do not agree to privacy policy changes and the use of collected data pay. Otherwise, consumers must agree to the use of their data.

The commission found that this model only provided a “binary option” – payment or consent – and forced them to choose one of two options, and “failed to provide a less personalised but equivalent version of Meta’s social media.”

This policy applies, for example, when advertising is displayed in the Facebook or Instagram feed. To avoid seeing advertising that is selected based on user preferences, Meta offers the option of paid use of social networks without advertising.

Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, who is in charge of competitiveness policy, was quoted in the statement as saying the investigation into Meta was based on the companies’ protection of the data of “millions of European Union citizens stored over many years.”

“We want to give citizens the ability to control their information and choose less personalized advertising,” he said.

Meta has the opportunity to “exercise its rights and examine the investigation documents,” but the Commission will continue to develop it, hoping to complete it by March next year.