06:49 AM EDT, 07/01/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European Commission said Monday it has made a preliminary determination that Meta Platform's (META) business model, which allows users to opt out of giving up their personal information to marketers in exchange for a subscription fee, does not comply with the Digital Markets Act.

The commission said that the law requires Meta to grant users who opt out of data collection a similar product.

"This binary choice forces users to consent to the combination of their personal data and fails to provide them a less personalized but equivalent version of Meta's social network," the commission said.

The commission also said that Meta and other digital gatekeepers impose terms on their users that give them unfair market advantages over competitors.

Under the terms of the preliminary findings, Meta may offer a counter-argument. The commission will complete its investigation by March 25. In case of non-compliance, the commission can hit Meta with fines of up to 10% of its total worldwide revenue, and up to 20% in case of repeated violations.

Meta said in an email to MT Newswires that its subscription for no ads offer "follows the direction of the highest court in Europe and complies with the Digital Markets Act."

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