European Commission Warns Meta That ‘Consent or Pay’ Model Remains Noncompliant

Meta faces a continuing battle with the European Commission over the company’s “consent or pay” model that allows ad-free services for a fee.

The European Commission wrote Meta last week, saying that this model needs more work to bring it into compliance with antitrust provisions of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (July 15), citing its interview with European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier.

The commission imposed a €200 million fine on Meta for this issue in April, and its latest letter to the company sets the stage for a formal warning and additional fines, according to the report.

Regnier said in the report that Meta made “limited changes” after the fine and that the commission’s letter outlines the issues that remain.

Asked about the report by Bloomberg, a Meta spokesperson said the choices the company offers EU citizens go “well beyond” the requirements under the Digital Markets Act.

When the European Commission fined Meta in April, the commission said in a press release that the company breached the Digital Markets Act’s obligation to enable consumers to choose a service that uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the “personalized ads” service.

Meta’s “consent or pay” model, which was introduced in November 2023 and required EU users of Facebook and Instagram to consent to personalized advertising or pay a monthly subscription for an ad-free service, does not comply with the DMA, the commission said.

Meta responded to the decision in April with a statement saying that the commission is trying to handicap American businesses while allowing Chinese and European ones to operate under different standards.

“This isn’t just about a fine; the commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multibillion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service,” Meta Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan said in the statement.

It was reported Friday (July 11) that Meta is “very unlikely” to offer additional changes to its “consent or pay” policy in Europe, meaning it is likely to face hefty new fines from the European Commission.

If still found in violation, Meta could face escalating new fines up to 5% of its daily turnover.