European Union: European Commission fined Meta EUR 200 million for its “consent or pay” model non-compliance with Digital Markets Act

On 23 April 2025, the European Commission fined Meta EUR 200 million for breaching obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The Commission found that Meta had failed to offer EU consumers a service that uses less of their personal data, as required by the DMA. In November 2023, Meta introduced its “consent or pay” advertising model, which gave users a binary choice, either consent to the combination of their personal data for personalised advertising or pay for an ad-free experience. The Commission deemed this approach non-compliant with the DMA. In November 2024, Meta introduced a revised personalised ads model, claiming to use less personal data. The European Commission is currently evaluating this model and has requested evidence of its practical impact. However, the Commission's non-compliance decision issued today relates specifically to the period between March and November 2024, when EU users were only given the binary “consent or pay” choice.