Meta set to be hit with a warning by EU over subscription model
Ad Off Regulatory Its In November, Users’ Versions Personal Of Free Ward Data Separate, And Over Processing To Introduced Instagram Pressure Growing Facebook Meta Of
Facebook and Instagram owner Meta is set to be slapped with a warning over its subscription model for ad-free services on its social media sites, risking potentially heavy fines under the EU’s strict tech rules.
EU regulators are set to announce the so-called pay-or-consent policy falls foul of the EU’s Digital Markets Act, according to people familiar with the probe, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The act lays out a series of dos or don’ts for some of the world’s largest tech platforms. The EU’s move, reported earlier by the , is a preliminary step. But eventual fines for breaches can be as high as 10% of global annual revenue, or 20% for repeated violations.
Meta introduced separate, ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram in November, to ward off growing regulatory pressure over its processing of users’ personal data.
The company said in a statement the new model complies with the Digital Markets Act and the company looked forward “to further constructive dialog with the European Commission to bring this investigation to a close”.
The EU regulator’s warning is set to come just a week after it issued a similar complaint against Apple’s compliance with the Digital Markets Act, warning the iPhone-maker it must allow app developers to steer users to cheaper deals and offers outside of the App Store, in order to step into line with the rules.
Under the Digital Markets Act, it is illegal for certain services operated by the likes of Apple, Alphabet’s Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon to favour their own services over those of rivals.
They are barred from combining personal data across their different services, prohibited from using data they collect from third-party merchants to compete against them, and have to allow users to download apps from rival’s platforms.