As of: February 29, 2024, 6:31 p.m
By: Michel Guddat
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Consumer advocates from eight European countries filed a complaint against the US company Meta.
The reason is the handling of personal data.
Bremen – “Make a selection on the topic of advertising”.
Since the beginning of November, this ad has appeared on every user of the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram in Europe.
The choice: pay money or see personalized advertising.
Anyone who no longer wants to see ads has to pay at least 9.99 euros a month, which caused a wave of outrage.
“While the subscription is running, the user information will not be used for advertising,” promises the Internet company Meta, which also owns the largest messaging service WhatsApp and Messenger.
And for other purposes?
Lawsuit against the Meta Group – accusation against the payment system introduced in November
As the European umbrella organization of consumer organizations (Beuc) announced, consumer advocates are taking action against the Meta group against the allegedly illegal use of user data.
The accusation: Users are forced to release their data using the payment system.
The subscription was a “cover” for data protection violations, Beuc asserted.
Meta uses “all conceivable data about consumers’ activities, location, personality, behavior, attitudes and emotions”.
This exploitation for commercial purposes violates the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), according to consumer advocates.
Illegal use of user data?
Consumer advocates are taking action against social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
© Andre M. Chang/Imago
Complaint from eight countries: Facebook, Instagram and Co. affected
According to the umbrella organization Beuc, consumer advocates from eight countries filed a lawsuit: Denmark, France, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.
This is the third wave of complaints against the US company Meta since the payment model was introduced.
A decision is expected in the coming weeks.
The GDPR, which has been introduced since May 25, 2028, ensures that companies are only allowed to use personal data if they are necessary for contract processing or if consent has been given.
In addition, everyone has the right to information (once a year free of charge), the right to authorization and completion and the right to deletion.
There was recently a report about a data leak at Vodafone, where customer data was openly accessible.
Meta rejects allegations – warning from the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court
Meta itself rejected the allegations, saying that the subscription concept corresponds to the case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
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The NRW consumer advice center has also taken action against the operator since its introduction in November 2023.
And achieved its first success: the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court issued an interim injunction against Meta.
“The order buttons for the subscriptions do not comply with the legal regulations,” says a press release from the consumer advice center.
(mg)