META PLATFORMS REVISED TO OFFER A PAID, AD-FREE SERVICE MAY STILL VIOLATE EUROPEAN PRIVACY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS, ACCORDING TO A CONSUMER GROUP.
CONSUMER GROUP ASKS EU REGULATORS TO ACT AGAINST META PLATFORMS
Meta Platforms’ revised ad-free subscription service could still breach EU consumer protection and privacy laws as well as antitrust rules, the European Consumers’ Bureau (BEUC) said on Thursday, urging regulators to take action against the American tech giant.
Meta, which rolled out the paid service for Facebook and Instagram in 2023, later offered European users the chance to receive less personalized ads and a 40% reduction in fees last year.
BEUC, which complained about the paid service to consumer protection authorities in 2023, said the changes made last year were cosmetic.
“In our view, the tech giant is failing to address the fundamental problem that Facebook and Instagram users are not getting a fair choice, and is weakly trying to claim compliance to European legislation while continuing to push users towards its behavioral advertising system”, said Agustin Reyna, Director General of BEUC.
-“It is important that consumer and data protection authorities and the European Commission promptly investigate Meta’s latest policy and, if necessary, take immediate and effective action to protect consumers,” he said. added.
BEUC claims that Meta’s misleading practices and unclear terms steer users towards its preferred option.
The consumer group also said that it is not possible for users to freely consent to the processing of their data and that Meta does not minimize the data it collects from users.
BEUC also accused Meta of degrading the service offered to users who do not accept the use of their personal data.
Meta said the changes made last year responded to requests from EU regulators. Last July, the company was accused by EU antitrust authorities of violating the Digital Markets Act, on the grounds that its ad-free paid service constituted a binary choice for users.
