EU regulators are enforcing a broader crackdown on major tech companies.
Meta Platforms has accused EU antitrust regulators of changing the rules of the game while working to comply with a directive aimed at its pay-or-consent business model.
The American tech giant claims that the European Commission has unfairly singled out its approach, despite Meta's efforts to engage in constructive dialogue and implement substantial changes.
A spokesperson for Meta speculated that the variety of options they offer to people in the EU not only complies with EU regulations but also exceeds them.
EU regulators are enforcing a broader crackdown on major tech companies.
EU regulators can impose daily fines against Meta Platforms if they determine that the changes the company proposed to its pay-or-consent model do not comply with an antitrust order issued in April.
The warning from the European Commission, the EU's competition authority, came two months after it imposed a fine of 200 million euros, equivalent to 234 million dollars, on the American social media giant for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The legislation is designed to limit the influence of large tech companies.
According to the Commission, Meta's original pay-or-consent model, launched in November 2023, violated the DMA by heavily relying on personal data for targeted ads. Although the company modified the model in November 2024 to reduce data usage, regulators are still assessing whether those changes are sufficient.
The model offers Facebook and Instagram users a free service, as long as they agree to be tracked; the service is funded by advertising revenue. Alternatively, they can pay for an ad-free service.
Meanwhile, daily fines for non-compliance with the DMA can amount to up to 5% of a company's average daily global revenue.
The action reveals the Commission's broader crackdown on big tech and its ambitions to level the playing field for smaller rivals, even as the United States has accused the bloc's rules of being primarily aimed at its companies.
The EU competition watchdog stated that Meta is expected to make only limited changes to its pay-or-consent model.
The EU watchdog states that the DMA applies equally to all major tech companies operating in the EU.
The European Commission's action towards Meta raises concerns in the tech ecosystem. Following Meta's claims that the Commission is treating them unfairly and changing requirements during discussions over the past two months, a spokesperson for Meta intervened to explain this.
Based on the spokesperson's argument, a choice for users between an ad-free subscription or a free ad-supported service is a valid business model for any company in Europe, except for Meta.
In response, the EU watchdog rejected Meta's claims of discrimination, stating that the DMA applies equally to all major digital companies operating in the EU, regardless of their country of origin or ownership.
A spokesperson for the commission elaborated on this, stating that they have always enforced their laws fairly and will continue to do so without bias against any company operating in the EU, fully complying with international regulations.
At that time, the Commission could not say whether these measures were sufficient to meet the key compliance standards mentioned in its non-compliance decision.
“With this in mind, we will consider the next steps, which include pointing out that continued non-compliance could lead to periodic penalty payments starting on June 27, 2025, as mentioned in the non-compliance decision,” the spokesperson added.
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