BRUSSELS, July 1 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms ( META ) was

charged by EU antitrust regulators on Monday for failing to

comply with landmark tech rules as they took aim at the U.S.

company's newly introduced pay or consent advertising model,

already the target of privacy regulators and activists' ire.

The tech giant launched the no-ads subscription service for

Facebook and Instagram in Europe last November, saying users who

consent to be tracked get a free service which is funded by

advertising revenues. Or they could pay for an ad-free service.

The European Commission, which acts as the EU competition

enforcer, said the binary choice breaches the bloc's Digital

Markets Act (DMA) which seeks to rein in the power of Big Tech,

as it sent its preliminary finding to Meta.

It said the binary choice forces users to consent to the

combination of their personal data and fails to provide them a

less personalised but equivalent version of Meta's social

networks.

"We want to empower citizens to be able to take control over

their own data and choose a less personalised ads experience,"

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Meta said its model complied with a ruling from Europe's top

court.

"Subscription for no ads follows the direction of the

highest court in Europe and complies with the DMA. We look

forward to further constructive dialogue with the European

Commission to bring this investigation to a close," a Meta

spokesperson said.

Meta can tweak its advertising model to stave off a fine of

as much as 10% of its global annual turnover if found guilty of

DMA breaches. The Commission has until March next year to wrap

up its investigation.

Privacy activists and privacy watchdogs have also taken

issue with Meta's advertising model.

Reuters was the first to report that the EU competition

enforcer would charge Meta with non-compliance under the Digital

Markets Act.

The charge against Meta came a week after the EU watchdog

issued its first DMA charge against Apple ( AAPL ) for not

complying with the new rule.