Meta’s pay-or-consent model could lead to daily fines, EU warns – National

Meta-platforms may face daily fines if EU regulators decide the changes he has offered to his payment or consent model antitrust Order issued in April, they said on Friday.

The European Commission’s warning, which acts as head of EU competition, occurred two months after slapping a fine of 200 million euros (234 million US dollars) on the American social media giant for violating the law on digital markets (DMA) aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech.

This decision shows the continuous repression of the Commission against Big Tech and its efforts to create a fair playground for smaller rivals despite American criticism on the rules of the block mainly targeting its companies.

Daily fines not to comply with the DMA can represent up to five percent of the average daily world turnover of a business.

The EU executive said that the META remuneration or consent model introduced in November 2023, violated the DMA during the period until November 2024, when it changed it to use less personal data for targeted advertising. The commission has examined the changes since then.

The model gives users of Facebook and Instagram which agrees to be followed a free service funded by advertising revenues. Alternatively, they can pay a service without advertising.

The EU competition supervisory dog ​​said META will not make changes limited to its payment or consent model last November.

“The Commission cannot confirm at this stage if they are sufficient to comply with the main compliance parameters described in its non-compliance decision,” said a spokesperson.

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“In this spirit, we will consider the next steps, in particular by recalling that continuous non-compliance could imply the application of periodic penalty payments executed on June 27, 2025, as indicated in the non-compliance decision.”

Meta accused the commission of discriminating to the company and of having moved the goal posts during the discussions in the past two months.

“A choice of user between a subscription for the non -advertising service or a free service supported by the ad remains a legitimate business model for each company in Europe – with the exception of Meta,” said a Meta spokesperson.

“We are convinced that the range of choices we offer to people in the EU does not comply with the EU rules require – it goes far beyond them.”

The EU’s guard dog has rejected Meta’s discrimination charges, saying that the DMA also applies to all large digital companies doing business in the EU, no matter where they are incorporated or which are their control shareholders.

“We have always applied and will continue to apply our laws fairly and without discrimination against all companies operating in the EU, in full compliance with global rules,” said the commission spokesperson.

—Rorting by Foo Yun Chee. Edition by Jane Merriman and Elaine Hardcastle