Derick Hudson
Update 2:05 PM: Changes source, Adds comment from Meta
The European Union's privacy watchdog said on Wednesday that large platforms like Meta's (NASDAQ:META) Facebook and Instagram should give users the option to use their services for free without targeted advertising.
The European Data Protection Board's opinion follows requests by supervisory authorities in the Netherlands, Norway, and Germany to inspect the 'consent or pay' models adopted by large online platforms.
"When developing the alternative to the version of the service with behavioural advertising, large online platforms should consider providing data subjects with an ‘equivalent alternative’ that does not entail the payment of a fee," EDPB said in a statement.
For Meta (META), Europe was its third-largest market in 2023, accounting for over 23% of its revenue.
In November 2023, the tech giant rolled out ad-free subscriptions for Facebook and Instagram in Europe in an effort to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act, which restricted the company's ability to personalize ads for users without their consent.
However, Meta (META) has faced growing criticism from users about its no-ads subscription service. Several consumer groups in the EU have filed complaints with their national data watchdogs against Meta (META), alleging breaches of the bloc's privacy rules related to user data.
The European Consumer Organization — also known as Bureau européen des unions de consommateurs, or BEUC — has said that the 'Pay-or-consent' choice Meta has imposed on consumers is a "smokescreen to obscure the real problem of illegal processing of data."
"Last year, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the subscription model is a legally valid way for companies to seek people’s consent for personalised advertising. Today’s EDPB Opinion does not alter that judgment and Subscription for no ads complies with EU laws," said a Meta company spokesperson.
Politico first reported the EDPB's opinion.