EU Watchdog Scrutinizes Meta’s Revised Ad-Free Service
It may be back to the drawing board yet again for Meta when it comes to the European version of the company’s no-ad Facebook and Instagram subscription service.
According to a Reuters report Thursday (Jan. 23), consumer advocates say Meta Platforms’ latest revised version of the service may still be in breach of EU privacy, consumer protection, and anti-trust laws.
After offering users in the EU, European Economic Area, and Switzerland a choice between free access with personalized ads or a paid ad-free subscription in 2023, European regulators flagged the policy for not complying with the Digital Markets Act, Reuters said. Meta made modifications, and in November 2024 it reduced the subscription price to €5.99/month on for web users and to €7.99/month for mobile users and introduced an option with less personalized ads.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) declared the changes were superficial, that Meta’s practices are still misleading, and called on regulators to investigate a policy it calls “binary” and “pay-or-consent.”
The BEUC also accused Meta of degrading the service to those who don’t allow access to their data to personalize ads.
“The tech giant fails to address the fundamental issue that Facebook and Instagram users are not being presented with a fair choice and is making a weak bid to argue it is complying with EU law while still pushing users towards its behavioral ads system,” BEUC Director General Agustin Reyna said in a statement.
“It is important for consumer and data protection authorities and the European Commission to quickly investigate Meta’s latest policy and, if needed, take immediate and effective measures to protect consumers,” he said.
Meta maintains that its efforts go beyond what is required by EU law. A company blog post states: “This is the second time in a year we have made significant changes to our business model in the EU to address regulatory feedback, which is testament to our commitment to complying with evolving EU regulations and offering people control over their experiences.”
Meta Platforms have also been under fire in India. After initially being prohibited by authorities from sharing WhatsApp user data with other Meta entities for targeted advertising, India’s National Company Law Appellate Tribunal suspended the ban on data sharing.
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