EU Declares Meta's Pay-for-Privacy Model Illegal

The EU has deemed Meta's pay-for-privacy subscription model as illegal under the Digital Markets Act. The European Commission rejected Meta's solution, stating that the pay-or-consent business model breaches the DMA by not giving users the power to decide how their data is used. Despite Meta's denial, the Commission insisted that users should have the option for non-personalized ads, such as contextual advertising. The concern lies in Meta's competitive advantage from combining data across platforms. If Meta fails to reach an agreement with regulators by March 2025, the EU has the authority to impose fines of up to 10% of the company's global turnover.