The European Union plans to charge Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, with violating landmark digital markets laws.
The Financial Times reported on Monday (July 1) preliminary findings due to be published this week, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter. According to the report, regulators have expressed concerns about Meta's 'pay or content' model.
It was in November that Mark Zuckerberg's company launched ad-free subscription services for Facebook and Instagram. This meant tracking users who consented and providing a free service powered by advertising revenue, or requiring them to pay if they didn't want their data shared.
According to the Financial Times, regulators are expected to soon say that the choice Meta offers in its new model provides false alternatives to users and forces them to consent due to financial barriers. This means that your personal data is being tracked for advertising purposes.
A publishers source 'with a good understanding of the EU's thinking' said consumers should be given 'an equal offer'.
The report believes such a move by the EU could happen soon, but the EU has yet to make an official statement, confirming or denying the rumor.
Apple has already been accused of violating EU regulations.
This isn't the first time the political union has found someone breaking the blocks' technical rules, as Apple was accused of violating its rules last week (June 24).
The Apple investigation began in March and the indictment is the first the commission has conducted under the new Digital Markets Act, which aims to curb the power of big tech and level the playing field.
Apple's new terms are not compliant with the DMA, which could impose huge fines if it fails to revise its business terms. Fines can be as much as 10% of the company's global annual turnover.
“As things stand, we believe that these new terms do not allow app developers to freely communicate and conclude agreements with their end users,” EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said, according to Reuters.
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