The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network has written to the social media giant in a co-ordinated EU action led by the French Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention.

It comes weeks after the European Commission said it had formed the preliminary view that the “pay or consent” model breaches the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA).

There are also separate investigations being carried out by the Commission under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) and by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission under the GDPR.

In November 2023, Meta introduced a “pay or consent” offer whereby EU users of Facebook and Instagram can either pay a monthly fee to use an ad-free version of the social networks, or access a free-of-charge version with personalised ads.

Consumer protection authorities say they have assessed several elements that could constitute misleading or aggressive practices, in particular whether Meta provided consumers upfront with true, clear and sufficient information.

They analysed whether this information allowed consumers to understand the implications of their decision to pay or to accept the processing of their personal data for commercial purposes on their rights as consumers.

In addition, CPC authorities are concerned that many consumers might have been exposed to undue pressure to choose rapidly between the two models, fearing that they would instantly lose access to their accounts and their network of contacts.

Věra Jourová, the European Commission’s vice-president for values and transparency, said: “We will not stand by and watch some sneaky practices that mislead consumers.

“We are proud of our strong consumer protection laws which empower Europeans to have the right to be accurately informed about changes such as the one proposed by Meta.

“In the EU, consumers are able to make truly informed choices and we now take action to safeguard this right.”

Didier Reynders, commissioner for justice, added: “Consumers must not be lured into believing that they would either pay and not be shown any ads any more, or receive a service for free, when, instead, they would agree that the company used their personal data to make revenue with ads.

“EU consumer protection law is clear in this respect. Traders must inform consumers upfront and in a fully transparent manner on how they use their personal data. This is a fundamental right that we will protect.”