Meta says will appeal ‘unlawful’ EU fine

Facebook owner Meta said it will appeal a 200-million-euro fine slapped on it by the EU after the bloc accused the company of breaking digital competition rules.

The EU fined Meta in April over its “pay or consent” system because of how it said the company used personal data on Facebook and Instagram.

“This decision is both incorrect and unlawful, and we are appealing it,” Meta vice president Tim Lamb said in a blog post published on Wednesday.

The fine against Meta concerned its “pay for privacy” system, which rights defenders have vehemently criticised in Europe after its introduction in November 2023.

It means users have to pay to avoid data collection, or agree to share their data with Facebook and Instagram to keep using the platforms for free.

The European Commission in April concluded Meta did not provide users with a less personalised but equivalent version of the platforms.

It also warned Meta faced potential daily penalties under the landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA) unless it complied with the law within 60 days.

That deadline ran out last week but the commission said on Wednesday that after receiving information from the company, it was assessing whether they are now complying.

Defending its system, Meta’s Lamb pointed to an EU court ruling in 2023 that he said opened the way for subscriptions as a legally valid option.

“Yet the (April) decision ignores this ruling. Instead, it claims that the (top EU court’s) crucial judgment is not relevant and incorrectly concludes that Meta’s user choice does not comply with the DMA. This stance is perplexing,” he wrote.