EU accuses Meta of violating antitrust rules with ad-supported subscription service.

EU accuses Meta of violating antitrust rules with ad-supported subscription service.
EU accuses Meta of violating antitrust rules with ad-supported subscription service.

The EU accused Facebook's parent company on Monday of not complying with its antitrust rules regarding the ad-supported social networking service.

Facebook and Instagram in Europe introduced a "pay or consent" model for their ad-supported subscription option, which requires users to either pay to use Meta's platforms ad-free or consent to their data being processed for personalized advertising.

Regulators stated Monday that the Commission believes the binary choice presented by Meta forces users to consent to the combination of their personal data and does not offer an equivalent, less personalized version of their social networks.

Meta has responded to CNBC's request for comment, stating that its ad-supported subscription model is in line with European law and the DMA.

In response to a ruling from the European Court of Justice, Meta has introduced a new model that does not rely on data collection for ads. The company has previously cited this ruling as a reason for introducing the subscription offer.

This breaking news story is being updated.

by Ryan Browne

Technology