Key Points
- Meta is refusing to make further changes to its “pay-or-consent” data model in Europe.
- The EU believes the model violates its Digital Markets Act (DMA) by not offering users a real choice.
- The company is now almost certain to face new EU antitrust charges and hefty daily fines.
- The daily fines could be as high as 5% of Meta’s worldwide daily revenue.
Meta is on a collision course with European regulators and seems ready to face massive daily fines. The social media giant is refusing to make more changes to its controversial “pay-or-consent” model, which forces users to either pay a fee or agree to have their data used for targeted ads.
The conflict centers on the EU’s powerful Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is designed to limit the power of Big Tech. Regulators argue that Meta’s system doesn’t give users a real choice. The EU already fined the company €200 million back in April for this very issue. Although Meta has made some minor tweaks to the system since then, regulators say it’s not enough.
According to people familiar with the situation, Meta is digging in its heels and won’t offer any more changes. This defiant stance makes new antitrust charges from the EU almost certain. The sources expect these charges to come in the next few weeks, followed shortly by daily fines that could be as high as 5% of Meta’s massive global daily income.
For its part, Meta has not commented on this latest development. However, the company has consistently argued that its model fully complies with the DMA.
Meta believes it offers European users more choices than the law requires and that the EU is unfairly discriminating against its business model. The standoff sets the stage for a major legal and financial battle between the tech giant and one of its most powerful regulators.
