Meta won't tweak pay-or-consent model further despite risk of EU fines, say sources

Meta won't tweak pay-or-consent model further despite risk of EU fines, say sources

Meta Platforms is very unlikely to offer more changes to its pay-or-consent model, meaning it is almost certain to be hit by fresh EU antitrust charges and hefty daily fines, people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

The European Commission last month warned Meta of possible daily fines after being told that the USsocial media giant would only make limited changes to its model to comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act.

The Facebook owner was hit with a 200-million-euro ($234 million) fine in April after the EU antitrust enforcer said its pay-or-consent model breached the DMA from when it was introduced in November 2023 to November 2024.

Meta had tweaked the model in November 2024 to use less personal data for targeted advertising, which prompted additional EU scrutiny and the subsequent Commission comments in June. The DMA seeks to curb the power of Big Tech via a list of dos and don'ts.

Meta will not propose additional changes unless circumstances change, the people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

That in turn will likely result in fresh EU antitrust charges in the coming weeks and daily fines following shortly, of as much as 5% of Meta's average daily worldwide turnover starting from June 27, one of the sources said, although a final decision has yet to be made.

Meta shares were down 1.7% in mid-session after the Reuters story was published.

Meta declined to comment and pointed to previous statements where it said it is confident that it complies with the DMA, that its range of choices to Europeans go beyond the DMA's requirements and that the Commission is discriminating against its business model.

The Commission declined to comment.