« Subscriptions as an alternative to advertising are a well-established business model in many industries and our description was designed to comply with the overlapping regulatory phone code philippines obligations, including the DMA. We will continue to engage constructively with the EC,» says the Meta spokesperson.
The crux of the matter is whether Facebook and Instagram users actually freely agree to the collection and processing of their personal data when they are given the choice between paying or using these social networks for free , which implies agreeing to Meta creating advertising profiles of them for advertisers.
Brussels believes that there should be a compromise between the full transfer of users' personal data for advertising purposes and the payment of a monthly fee to avoid the processing of such personal data . This compromise would involve a less personalised version of Facebook and Instagram that makes less intensive use of users' personal data.
The EC is due to conclude its investigation into Meta's "pay or consent" model by the end of March next year . And if it is ultimately found to be in breach of EU law, the US multinational risks a fine of up to 10% of its global turnover (which would be equivalent to 13.5 billion dollars).