The European Union (EU) has accused Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, of misleading consumers by promoting the social media platforms as “free,” while forcing users either to pay a subscription fee for a privacy-friendly experience or allow the company to process user data and be served up personalized ads.
The EU’s Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) network, which is responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws, announced on July 22 that it had sent a letter to Meta, ordering it to modify its “pay or consent” model that requires users to pay for using Facebook and Instagram or opt in to marketing-related collection and processing of their personal data.
