2024-02-29 08:00:00
(CNN) — European consumer rights groups have accused Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, of carrying out a “massive” and “illegal” data collection operation on hundreds of millions of users in the region.
The European Consumer Organization (BEUC), an umbrella body for 45 consumer groups, said eight of the groups were filing complaints with their respective national data protection authorities on Thursday.
The groups claim that Meta ( META ) collects an unnecessary amount of information regarding its users, such as data used to infer their sexual orientation, emotional state, or even their susceptibility to addiction, to which they cannot freely consent.
The company’s practices, the groups argue, violate parts of the European Union’s signature data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR.
“With its illegal practices, Meta fuels the surveillance-based advertising system that tracks consumers online and collects large amounts of personal data in order to serve them ads,” BEUC said in a statement.
CNN has contacted Meta for comment.
Thursday’s complaints will potentially expose the company, for years the subject of intense regulatory scrutiny in Europe, to even more legal action.
Last May, EU regulators fined the tech giant a sum record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for violating GDPR regulations by transferring personal data of Facebook users to servers in the United States.
‘Pay or consent’
In October, EU regulators forced Meta to start requesting explicit consent from its users to process their personal information to deliver targeted advertising.
Several days later, Meta launched a subscription service that allowed its European users to pay up to 12.99 euros ($14) a month to use ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram. Starting Friday, it also plans to introduce additional monthly charges for each new account a user sets up as part of that offer.
Meta has said the service is part of its efforts to comply with the GDPR.
But the BEUC argued on Thursday that Meta’s subscription service offers users “an unfair and misleading choice” as its data processing is not transparent, meaning users cannot know how subscribing would change the way in which your information is processed. Additionally, Meta’s market dominance means that users cannot easily abandon their platforms without isolating themselves from family and friends.
The organization filed a complaint with European consumer protection authorities in November, arguing that this “payment or consent” approach was an example of an unfair and “aggressive” business practice prohibited by EU law.
“Meta’s offering to consumers is smoke and mirrors to cover up what is, in essence, the same old accumulation of all kinds of sensitive information regarding people’s lives, which it then monetizes through its invasive advertising model,” said Ursula Pachl, assistant principal. general of the BEUC, said Thursday in a statement.
Brian Fung contributed to this article.
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