The EU has Meta in its sights for forcing its users to pay to avoid advertising

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he European Commission (EC) is keeping an eye on the tech giants, and is not prepared to tolerate any violation of the current rules in force on the old continent. The European Commission accused Meta yesterday of violating the new Digital Markets Act (DMA) with an advertising model that forces users to pay to free themselves from the yoke of ads on Facebook and Instagram.

Last year, the company led by Mark Zuckerberg launched a new advertising model , also known as “pay or consent,” in an attempt to comply with Brussels data privacy regulations. The backbone of this model is the payment of a monthly fee to access an ad-free version of Facebook and Instagram in which the user’s personal data is not used for advertising purposes. If users do not agree to open their wallets wide to pay this monthly fee, Meta reserves the right to use their personal data to personalize the advertising that appears in their “feed” on Facebook and Instagram.

The EC believes that this advertising model is not in line with the principles of the DMA , a legislative framework specifically designed to keep large technology companies on a tight leash. The European Union (EU) executive published on Monday the preliminary results of an investigation into Meta's "pay or consent" model and concludes that this model forces users to consent to the use of their personal data, compiled through multiple platforms, if they do not agree to pay.


Brussels accuses Meta of not giving its users the possibility of opting for a service that makes less intensive use of their data and that is simultaneously similar to the ad-supported version of Facebook and Instagram.

"According to the preliminary results of the investigation undertaken by the EC, the binary choice proposed by Meta forces the user to consent to the use of personal data and fails to provide a less personalized version that is equivalent in terms of functionality to the advertising model of Facebook and Instagram ," the EU executive stresses.

To comply with the WFD's requirements, Meta should launch equivalent versions of Facebook and Instagram that use less personal data , Brussels stresses.

The EC investigation into Meta's "pay or consent" model will be concluded in March 2025
A Meta spokesperson rejects the EC's allegations and emphasises that bahrain whatsapp list he "pay or consent" model has been specifically designed to comply with the DMA and other regulatory requirements.

« Subscriptions as an alternative to advertising are a well-established business model in many industries and our description was designed to comply with the overlapping regulatory obligations, including the DMA. We will continue to engage constructively with the EC,» says the Meta spokesperson.

The crux of the matter is whether Facebook and Instagram users actually freely agree to the collection and processing of their personal data when they are given the choice between paying or using these social networks for free , which implies agreeing to Meta creating advertising profiles of them for advertisers.

Brussels believes that there should be a compromise between the full transfer of users' personal data for advertising purposes and the payment of a monthly fee to avoid the processing of such personal data . This compromise would involve a less personalised version of Facebook and Instagram that makes less intensive use of users' personal data.

The EC is due to conclude its investigation into Meta's "pay or consent" model by the end of March next year . And if it is ultimately found to be in breach of EU law, the US multinational risks a fine of up to 10% of its global turnover (which would be equivalent to 13.5 billion dollars).