Meta accused of ‘massive, illegal' data processing by European consumer groups

European consumer rights groups have accused Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, of carrying out a ‘massive’ and ‘illegal’ operation of collecting data from hundreds of millions of users in the region. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), an umbrella body for 45 consumer groups, said eight of the groups were filing complaints with their respective national data protection authorities. The groups claim that Meta collects an unnecessary amount of information on its users, which they are unable to freely consent to. The company’s practices, the groups argue, breach parts of the European Union’s signature data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR. Thursday’s complaints will potentially expose the company to yet more legal action. Last May, EU regulators fined the tech giant a record-breaking amount for violating GDPR rules. In October, EU regulators forced Meta to start asking for explicit consent from its users to process their personal information for the purpose of delivering them targeted advertisements. Several days later, Meta launched a subscription service allowing its European users to pay to use ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram. From Friday, it also plans to introduce additional monthly charges for each new account a user sets up as part of that offering. The BEUC argued Thursday that Meta’s subscription service offers users ‘an unfair and misleading choice’ as its data processing isn’t transparent, meaning users cannot know how subscribing would change the way their information is processed. Moreover, Meta’s market dominance means that users cannot easily leave its platforms without cutting themselves off from their family and friends. The organization filed a complaint with European consumer protection authorities in November, arguing that this ‘pay-or-consent’ approach was an example of an unfair and ‘aggressive’ commercial practice prohibited under EU law.