European Commission's Preliminary Findings on META's Use of Pay or OK Model

The European Commission's recent preliminary findings revealed that META's implementation of the Pay or OK model for its Instagram and Facebook products violates the Digital Markets Act. This model presents users with a choice: either allow data aggregation for personalized advertising in exchange for a free service or pay for a subscription without ads. The European Data Protection Board found META's use of personalized advertising in violation of the GDPR, leading to adjustments in legal bases under GDPR. The European Commission's complaints about META's use of the Pay or OK model are anchored in competition law under the Digital Markets Act, scrutinizing how data is combined across META's social media and ad platform services.