The EU has put Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) on notice over its "pay or consent" model for Facebook and Instagram, citing potential violations of consumer protection laws.
What Happened: The EU's Consumer Protection Cooperation or CPC Network has given Meta until Sept. 1, 2024, to propose changes to its "pay or consent" model, according to a blog post on Tuesday.
The EU has labeled the model as "misleading" and "confusing" for users, and non-compliance could lead to fines.
"Consumer protection authorities assessed several elements that could constitute misleading or aggressive practices, in particular, whether Meta provided consumers upfront with true, clear, and sufficient information," the union stated.
Meta's "pay or consent" model, rolled out last year, presents users with two choices: pay up to €12.99 (approximately $14.13) per month for ad-free usage of Facebook and Instagram or agree to the collection and use of personal data for personalized ads.
The CPC initiated its investigation in response to complaints from consumer watchdog groups. These groups alleged that Meta employs confusing language to describe the paid and "free" versions of its platforms.
Meta did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments.
Why It Matters: This development follows Meta's decision to reduce the subscription fee for its ad-free Facebook and Instagram services in Europe to €5.99 ($6.5) from the initial €9.99 ($10.9).
This move was aimed at addressing growing concerns of privacy and antitrust regulators.
Last month, Meta faced a complaint in Norway for using user images and posts from Facebook and Instagram to train AI models.
The Norwegian Consumer Council argued that the opt-out process violates strict EU data protection laws and that Meta uses deceptive design patterns and vague language to make opting out difficult.
歐盟已就其Facebook和Instagram的 “付費或同意” 模式通知了Meta Platforms Inc.(納斯達克股票代碼:META),理由是可能違反消費者保護法。
發生了什麼:根據週二的一篇博客文章,歐盟消費者保護合作組織(CPC)網絡已允許Meta在2024年9月1日之前提議修改其 “付費或同意” 模式。
歐盟已將該模型標記爲對用戶 “具有誤導性” 和 “令人困惑”,不合規可能會導致罰款。
該工會表示:“消費者保護機構評估了可能構成誤導性或侵略性行爲的幾個因素,特別是 Meta 是否事先向消費者提供了真實、清晰和足夠的信息。”
去年推出的 Meta 的 “付費或同意” 模式爲用戶提供了兩種選擇:每月支付高達12.99歐元(約合14.13美元)的無廣告使用Facebook和Instagram或同意收集和使用個人數據進行個性化廣告。
CPC 啓動調查是爲了回應消費者監督組織的投訴。這些組織稱,Meta 在描述其平台的付費和 "免費 "版本時使用了混淆性語言。
Meta 沒有立即回應 Benzinga 的評論請求。
爲何重要:這一事態發展是在Meta決定將其在歐洲的無廣告Facebook和Instagram服務的訂閱費從最初的9.99歐元(10.9美元)降至5.99歐元(6.5美元)之後發生的。
此舉旨在解決隱私和反壟斷監管機構日益增長的擔憂。
上個月,Meta因使用來自Facebook和Instagram的用戶圖片和帖子來訓練人工智能模型而在挪威面臨投訴。
挪威消費者委員會認爲,選擇退出程序違反了嚴格的歐盟數據保護法,Meta 使用欺騙性的設計模式和模糊的語言使選擇退出變得困難。