BEUC: ‘Meta’s revised ‘pay or okay’ policy still ignores fundamental problems’

The Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs (BEUC) isn’t happy with Meta’s revised ‘pay or okay’ business model, because it still doesn’t offer a fair choice for European Facebook and Instagram users that complies with EU law.

In November 2023, Meta came up with its ‘pay or okay’ model. European Facebook and Instagram users had to make a choice between paying a monthly subscription fee and seeing no ads on their timeline, or opting for a free account that allows Meta to collect user data to provide personalized ads.

Meta came up with the idea, because the Irish data protection authority (DPA) ruled that the American tech company wasn’t allowed to use ‘contractual necessity’ as a legal basis to collect users’ data. The privacy regulator punished Meta for this by imposing a €390 fine.

Meta then tried to justify its data collection practices by using ‘legitimate interest’ as a legal basis. Again the company received a slap on the wrist. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that offering personalized ads on its platforms cannot be seen as a legitimate interest for collecting user data.

Even though Meta offered European users a 40% cut in 2024, the company received a lot of backlash for its ‘pay or okay’ business model. Therefore, in November 2024, Meta rolled out a second version of its policy.

Still, consumer groups aren’t happy with the result, because they think Meta refuses to address the fundamental problems. BEUC feels that Meta is beating around the bush and still fails to offer European Facebook and Instagram users a fair option that complies with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

“European consumers should not be fooled by the cosmetic changes Meta applies to its one-year-old pay-or consent policy. In our view, the tech giant fails to address the fundamental issue that Facebook and Instagram users are not being presented with a fair choice and is making a weak bid to argue it is complying with EU law while still pushing users towards its behavioral ads system. It is important for consumer and data protection authorities and the European Commission to quickly investigate Meta’s latest policy and, if needed, take immediate and effective measures to protect consumers,” Agustín Reyna, Director General of BEUC, says in a statement.

BEUC and its members claim that Meta is using misleading practices, unclear terms, and a confusing interface to steer towards Meta’s preferred option. In addition, they feel that users aren’t fully free in their choice, because Meta doesn’t minimize the data it collects from users. Lastly, the advocacy groups argue that Meta degrades its service to users who do not consent to the use of their personal data.

A Meta spokesperson told Reuters he disagreed with BEUC’s conclusions, saying that the changes in the second version meet EU regulator demands and go beyond what is required by EU law.

In July 2024, the European Commission announced it was ready to charge Meta over its ‘pay or okay’ policy.