Meta is set to face several complaints accusing the tech giant of failing to obtain proper consent before collecting “gargantuan” amounts of data from Facebook and Instagram users for targeted advertising.
Eight consumer organisations will lodge the complaints with national data watchdogs on Thursday. They have also accused Meta of creating a “smokescreen” by offering users the choice of using ad-free versions of their social media services for a fee.
“[The] tech giant’s gargantuan collection of personal data is against GDPR principles of lawfulness, fairness, data minimisation and purpose limitation,” the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) said in a statement on Thursday.
Ursula Pachl, deputy director-general of the BEUC, criticised Meta’s “unfair ‘pay-or-consent’ choice” as the company’s latest effort to legalise its business model.
“But Meta’s offer to consumers is smoke and mirrors to cover up what is, at its core, the same old hoovering up of all kinds of sensitive information about people’s lives which it then monetises through its invasive advertising model,” Pachl added.
The groups claim this is a breach of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which could see companies fined up to 4 per cent of their annual revenue for the most serious violations.
Meta has been offering ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram since late last year, in return for a monthly fee. This move followed discussions with EU regulators aiming to curb data exploitation by tech giants, particularly concerning how much private data they can collect.
However, none of the eight consumer groups are based in the UK because the ad-free tier does not exist in Britain, where the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) does not apply.
Under Europe’s DMA, which came into force last November, platforms are banned from tracking users for targeted advertising without their permission.
The UK’s own version, the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Bill, is currently passing through parliament, and is expected to pass in Spring.
Meta has pointed to past statements that the change was backed by an EU court ruling last year, stating that businesses should offer alternatives for customers who don’t want their data collected and sold to advertisers, “if necessary for an appropriate fee”.
“Subscription for no ads addresses the latest regulatory developments, guidance and judgments shared by leading European regulators and the courts over recent years,” a Meta spokesperson said.
“Specifically, it conforms to direction given by the highest court in Europe: in July, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) endorsed the subscriptions model as a way for people to consent to data processing for personalised advertising.”