The central data authority for the European Union declared that sites such as Meta, the owner of Facebook, cannot charge customers for data privacy when they provide ad-free subscriptions.
The European Data Protection Board chair, Anu, Talus disclosed this in a statement seen by Newsng on Thursday.
The heads of the national EU data protection authorities wrote the opinion which applies to all online platforms but is especially relevant in light of Meta’s announcement in October last year that it will give Facebook and Instagram users in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland the option to use the platforms ad-free for a monthly fee.
They will see customised advertisements if they use the platform in the same way as previously.
According to the EDPB’s opinion released, the majority of these payment models that only give users the option to pay a fee or give their consent to the processing of their data for behavioural advertising purposes will not be fully compliant with the EU’s data protection laws regarding the principle of valid consent.
“The models we have today usually require individuals to either give away all their data or to pay.
“As a result, most users consent to the processing in order to use a service, and they do not understand the full implications of their choices,” Talus said in a statement.
In response to a request from three concerned data protection authorities in February, the EDPB convened this week to discuss adopting an opinion on the so-called “consent or pay” model.
The EDPB approved a position on “consent or pay,” which will be published later, according to a spokesman for the body.
Saying, “We are not in a position to comment on the content of the opinion before the opinion is published,” she would not, however, confirm the decision’s main points.
The Dutch, Norwegian, and German supervisory authorities piled on the controversy by requesting an opinion from the EDPB.
We earlier reported that the semi-independent policy council of Meta, the Oversight Board, is focusing on the way the company’s social media platforms are managing explicit photos created by artificial intelligence.
