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By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Meta Platforms' revised no-ads subscription service may still breach EU consumer and privacy laws in addition to antitrust rules, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) said on Thursday as it urged regulators to act against the U.S. tech giant.
Meta, which rolled out the fee-based service for Facebook and Instagram in 2023, subsequently offered European users the option to receive less personalised ads, and a 40% cut in the fees last year.
BEUC, which complained about the fee-based service to consumer protection authorities in 2023, said the changes made last year were cosmetic.
"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 behavioural ads system," BEUC Director General Agustin Reyna said.
"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," he said.
A Meta spokesperson disagreed with BEUC's conclusions, saying November's changes meet EU regulator demands and go beyond what is required by EU law.
BEUC alleges that Meta's misleading practices and unclear terms steer users towards its preferred option.
The consumer group also said it is not possible for users to freely consent to their data being processed and that Meta does not minimise the data it collects from users.
BEUC also accused Meta of degrading the service to users who do not agree to the use of their personal data.
EU antitrust regulators charged Meta in July last year for breaching the Digital Markets Act, saying its paid ad-free service constituted a binary choice for users.
(Reporting by Foo Yun CheeEditing by Jane Merriman and Frances Kerry)
