KUALA LUMPUR – Tech giant Meta has until September 1 to respond to concerns by the European Union’s Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) network about the social media platform’s “pay or consent” model.
This came after Meta’s intentions late last year for users to pay a fee to avoid data collection, or agree to share their private data with Facebook and Instagram for personalised advertisements.
In a statement today, the commission said if Meta does not respond by the deadline, it could face enforcement measures, which include sanctions.
CPC said its authorities identified several practices that raise concern, are considered unfair, and contradict the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and Unfair Contract Terms Directive.
“Consumer protection authorities assessed several elements that could constitute misleading or aggressive practices, in particular, whether Meta provided consumers upfront with true, clear and sufficient information.
“They analysed whether this information allowed consumers to understand the implications of their decision to pay or to accept the processing of their personal data for commercial purposes on their rights as consumers.
“In addition, CPC authorities are concerned that many consumers might have been exposed to undue pressure to choose rapidly between the two models, fearing that they would instantly lose access to their accounts and their network of contacts.”
The commission added that the action against Meta is alongside other ongoing EU procedures for the same business model and is assessing the tech giant’s practices under consumer law.
However, the CPC said this is separate from its formal request for information under the Digital Services Act on March 1 and its investigations against Meta’s usage of the “pay or consent” model under the Digital Markets Act, which commenced on March 25.
On November 30 last year, the European Consumer Organisation alerted the CPC network that Meta’s new subscription model had elements of potentially misleading and aggressive practices. – July 22, 2024