Security News > 2024 > July > Meta Given Deadline to Address E.U. Concerns Over 'Pay or Consent' Model

Meta has been given time till September 1, 2024, to respond to concerns raised by the European Commission over its "Pay or consent" advertising model or risk-facing enforcement measures, including sanctions.

As per the E.U. Digital Markets Act, companies in gatekeeper roles are required to seek users' express consent before utilizing their data for offering services that go beyond their core functionality or provide access to a less personalized but equivalent version of the platforms for those who refuse to opt in.

"Gatekeepers cannot make use of the service or certain functionalities conditional on users' consent," the Commission noted earlier this month, stating that Meta's model is in violation of the DMA. The Commission further called out Meta for using vague terms and branding the service as "Free" when, in reality, it forces consumers to agree to their data used for personalized ads, not to mention making the experience confusing by making them "Navigate through different screens" to determine how their data is used and processed for advertising purposes.

The development comes days after Nigeria's Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission fined Meta $220 million after an investigation showed that the company's data sharing on Facebook and WhatsApp violated local consumer, data protection, and privacy laws by collecting users' information without their consent.

"Meta Parties shall immediately and forthwith stop the process of sharing WhatsApp user's information with other Facebook companies and third parties, until such a time when users have actively and voluntarily consented to each and every component of the liberties Meta parties intend to exercise with respect to the information of the data subjects," a final order issued last week read. Earlier this May, the Turkish competition board imposed a $37.20 million penalty against the American tech giant over its data-sharing practices across Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp.

Google has become the subject of a new probe initiated by the Italian data protection authority over how it gets users' consent prior to combining personal data from different services and if it provides adequate information to influence that choice.

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https://thehackernews.com/2024/07/meta-given-deadline-to-address-eu.html