The European Commission has reported its preliminary findings on Meta’s “pay-or-play” model
In January, we prepared an article for you regarding the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the processing of personal data by Meta, which subsequently introduced a “pay-or-consent” model. According to the preliminary findings of the European Commission, this model is not in line with EU regulations.
A brief reminder of the January article
In our January article, we reported on the CJEU ruling that Meta’s processing of personal data constitutes processing of special categories of personal data, as Meta can determine, for example, your health status or sexual orientation from the data on the websites you visit. According to the court, such processing requires you to give the company valid and free consent, which can be withdrawn at any time without preventing you from using the network. Meta has since introduced a “pay-or-consent” model – either you do not give consent and pay for social networks without ads, i.e. there is no need to personalise advertising for you, so Meta does not need the data from cookies (i.e. data about the pages you visit), or you give consent and use the networks for free.
Payment or consent?
According to the Digital Markets Regulation, users should have access to a less personalised but equivalent alternative service if they refuse to consent to the processing of personal data based on cookies. In early July, the European Commission informed Meta that the “pay-or-consent” model is not compliant with the Digital Markets Regulation because it does not meet this.
So, in line with the Digital Markets Regulation, users who do not give consent should be able to access an equivalent service that uses less of their personal data. This is not currently met by the ‘pay-or-consent’ model.
What does this mean for the Met?
The Commission sent Meta information on its preliminary view, informing the Commission of the above. Meta can now exercise its rights of defence. If the Commission’s preliminary views are confirmed, the Commission will adopt a decision on the incompatibility of the advertising model described above with the Digital Markets Regulation. In such a case, the Commission may impose a fine of up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide turnover.
Why is the case interesting to us?
In the Czech Republic, some search services have started to use a similar model. The result of the investigation may therefore have an impact on them as well, so it is interesting to follow this case.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or guidance for any particular case.
If you would like more information in this regard, please do not hesitate to contact us.