Source: Golden Ten Data
Consumer groups in eight EU countries say Meta's paid subscription service is a “smokescreen” to cover up its illegal collection of user data and targeted advertising.
$Meta Platforms (META.US)$It is currently facing numerous complaints in Europe, mainly against the company collecting large amounts of data from Facebook and Instagram users and targeting ads without their consent.
Eight consumer groups will file complaints with their respective national data regulators on Thursday, accusing Meta of creating a “smokescreen” by providing paid services to users. The eight EU countries are the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
Currently, Meta charges users in the region 9.99 euros/month for the web version (or 12.99 euros/month for mobile) to provide ad-free access to Facebook and Instagram. This means that users in the EU either agree to watch ads or pay. According to this consumer group, this means that consumers either pay for privacy or use it “for free” by losing their privacy, but are actually still “paying”. As a result, they are filing a complaint with the National Data Protection Authority about this “consent or payment” option.
Consumer groups said Meta did not comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules on fair processing, data minimization, and purpose limitation, and that the company's data collection and processing had no legal basis. The regulation allows fines of up to 4% of global annual revenue for the most serious offenses. More importantly, companies can be ordered to stop unlawfully processing data, which means regulators are likely to reform business models that infringe on privacy.
Ursula Pachl (Ursula Pachl), Deputy Director General of the European Consumer Organization, said in a statement: “Under the GDPR, a business model based on surveillance poses various problems. It is time for data protection agencies to stop Meta's unfair data processing practices and violations of people's basic rights.”
Pahel said that Meta's paid service to consumers is intended to cover up and hide people's ears. The purpose is to conceal its core content, which is to collect all kinds of sensitive information about people's lives and then monetize it through intrusive advertising models.
Meta, on the other hand, said that the fee is aimed at complying with the new EU technology rules. The company believes that the ad-free subscription service is in line with the latest regulatory developments, guidance and rulings of European regulators and courts in recent years. Meta also notes that the fee was supported by a European Court of Justice ruling last year, which stated that companies should provide an alternative to customers who do not want their data collected and sold to advertisers, “if necessary, to pay an appropriate fee.” “The option for people to buy ad-free subscriptions balances the requirements of European regulators, provides users with choices, and allows Meta to continue to serve everyone in Europe,” Meta said.
Consumer complaints will increase the pressure on data regulators to make quick decisions. The new EU regulations will come into effect on March 7, further expanding the powers of regulators and imposing further restrictions on platforms that process personal data for advertising purposes, putting them at risk of more EU scrutiny.
edit/lambor