Title: contact Consumer Groups Accuse Meta of Illegally Collecting Unnecessary User Data in Huge Quantities, Breaching GDPR
contact consumer rights organizations have taken a strong stance against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, accusing it of engaging in an extensive and unlawful operation to collect data from hundreds of millions of users in Europe. The contact Consumer Organization (BEUC), which represents 45 consumer groups, announced that eight of these organizations would be filing complaints with their national data protection authorities on Thursday.
The primary concern of the groups is Meta’s collection of an excessive amount of personal information, including details that users cannot freely consent to, such as data used to infer their sexual orientation, emotional state, and even susceptibility to addiction. According to the organizations, Meta’s practices violate several aspects of the contact Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
BEUC stated in a press release, “With its illegal practices, Meta fuels the surveillance-based ads system, which tracks consumers contact and gathers vast amounts of personal data for the purpose of showing them targeted advertisements.” The group further emphasized that Meta’s practices undermine privacy rights, manipulating users into revealing more information than they might otherwise intend.
Meta has been contacted for comment on these allegations but has yet to respond. This latest development adds to the regulatory scrutiny that Meta has faced in Europe for years. Last May, contact regulators imposed a €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) fine on the company for transferring Facebook users’ personal data to servers in the US, which breached GDPR rules. In October, Meta was forced to seek explicit consent from its contact users before processing their personal information for targeted advertising purposes.
In response to these regulatory actions, Meta launched a subscription service in October 2022, allowing contact users to pay up to €12.99 ($14) per month for ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram. Starting from Friday, Meta also plans to introduce additional monthly charges for each new account a user creates as part of the offering. The company claims this subscription service is an effort to comply with GDPR requirements.
However, BEUC argues that Meta’s subscription service offers users an unfair and misleading choice since its data processing isn’t transparent, making it unclear how subscribing would change the way information is processed. Moreover, Meta’s market dominance means that leaving its platforms can result in users losing contact with their family and friends.
The organization filed a complaint with contact consumer protection authorities in November, arguing that Meta’s “pay-or-consent” approach is an example of an unfair commercial practice prohibited under EU law. Ursula Pachl, deputy director general of the BEUC, explained in a statement, “Meta’s offer to consumers is smoke and mirrors to cover up what is, at its core — the same old hoovering up of all kinds of sensitive information about people’s lives, which it then monetizes through its invasive advertising model.”
These developments add to Meta’s ongoing challenges in Europe, where data protection and privacy regulations are more stringently enforced. The complaints filed by consumer organizations could potentially expose the company to further legal action and increased regulatory oversight, as it continues to grapple with the consequences of its past data handling practices.
