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Meta given deadline to address EU for its “pay or consent” model

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Photo by mundissima / Shutterstock.com

The EU’s Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) has given social media giant Meta until September 1, 2024, to respond to the European Commission’s concerns over its “pay or consent” model used in advertising on the platform. Failure to do so can bring down enforcement measures from the commission, including sanctions.

The model has been adopted for Facebook and Instagram and can be considered unfair and in breach of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive (UCTD). It locks Facebook and Instagram users out of their accounts unless they pay a monthly subscription or consent to their data being used to show targeted ads, making money for Meta either way.

Photo by mundissima / Shutterstock.com
Photo by mundissima / Shutterstock.com

Authorities are worried about consumers feeling pressured into making a quick decision between paying for a monthly subscription or having their personal data used for targeted ads, specifically about the following four points.

  • Meta is misleading consumers by using the word ‘free’. By not choosing the subscription, consumers are still providing personal data that Meta can make money off by showing them personalised ads.
  • Users might be confused in the process as Meta requires them to navigate through different screens in the Facebook and Instagram apps and to click on specific hyperlinks directing them to different parts of the Terms of Service or Privacy Policy to find out how “Meta will use their preferences, personal data, and user-generated data to show them personalised ads.”
  • Using misleading terms and language and suggesting that paid users won’t see ads at all, they might still end up seeing ads when engaging with content shared via Facebook or Instagram by other members.
  • Pressuring users who have used the services for free before the model was introduced to make an immediate choice “without giving them a pre-warning, sufficient time, and a real opportunity to assess how that choice might affect their contractual relationship with Meta, by not letting them access their accounts before making their choice.”

Meta introduced the model in 2023, and the CPC has been after the social media giant ever since. Considering how difficult it is becoming for Meta to scrape data from European users for free, the model could have turned a page for the company and made up some profit. Regardless, Meta now has to respond to CPC and the commission before September 1, 2024, to propose solutions and take the steps necessary to solve the concerns raised.

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Yadullah Abidi

Yadullah Abidi

Yadullah is a Computer Science graduate who writes/edits/shoots/codes all things cybersecurity, gaming, and tech hardware. When he's not, he streams himself racing virtual cars. He's been writing and reporting on tech and cybersecurity with websites like Candid.Technology and MakeUseOf since 2018. You can contact him here: yadullahabidi@pm.me.

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