Evelyn Hochstein/Reuters/File
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attends a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation in Washington, DC, in January 2024.
London
CNN
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A European consumer rights group has accused Facebook and Instagram owner Meta of a “large-scale” and “illegal” operation that collects data from hundreds of millions of users in the region. .
The European Consumer Organization (BEUC), an umbrella group for 45 consumer organizations, announced on Thursday that eight of them have lodged complaints with their national data protection authorities.
These organizations believe that META collects unnecessary amounts of information about users, including data that can be used to infer users’ sexual orientation, emotional state, and even susceptibility to addiction. They argue that users cannot freely consent to this.
The groups allege that the company’s practices violate parts of the European Union’s flagship data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
“Meta’s illegal activities facilitate surveillance-based advertising systems that track consumers online and collect vast amounts of personal data for the purpose of serving ads,” BEUC said in a statement.
Mr Mehta disputes the allegations.
“We take our regulatory obligations extremely seriously and are confident that our approach is GDPR compliant,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
“Since 2019, Meta has undertaken a thorough review of privacy. We are held accountable by regulators, policymakers and experts to protect people’s privacy. We are committed to working with them. , we ensure that what we build follows best practices and meets our high standards of data protection,” the spokesperson added.
Thursday’s charges could expose the company, which has long been the subject of intense regulatory scrutiny in Europe, to further legal action.
Last May, EU regulators fined the tech giant a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for violating GDPR rules by transferring Facebook users’ personal data to servers in the United States. .
According to the European Data Protection Board, the fine remains the largest ever imposed under the EU law since 2018.
A spokesperson for the Norwegian Data Protection Agency told CNN on Thursday that it was “very concerned about Meta’s actions.”
“Data protection is a human right for everyone, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy. Our hope is that this complaint will trigger further regulatory scrutiny at European level.” The spokesperson said, adding that Norway would hand over the complaint to Irish authorities, the main regulator of meth in Europe.
Graham Doyle, deputy commissioner of the Irish Data Protection Commission, told CNN that the agency had not yet received any complaints from the agency.
“We expect these complaints to undergo an initial complaint review with their respective (data protection authorities) before being forwarded to the DPC for review,” he said.
In October, EU regulators forced Meta to ask users for their explicit consent before processing their personal information for the purpose of serving them targeted ads.
A few days later, Meta launched a subscription service that allows users in Europe to use ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram by paying up to 12.99 euros ($14) per month. Starting Friday, it will introduce an additional monthly fee for each new account users set up as part of its service.
Meta said the service is part of its efforts to comply with GDPR.
“The ‘ad-free subscription’ aligns with the latest regulatory developments, guidance and rulings shared by major European regulators and courts in recent years,” the company said in an October blog post.
But BEUC said on Thursday that Meta’s subscription service offers users “unfair and misleading choices” because their data processing is not transparent, meaning that their subscription does not allow them to understand how their information is processed. They argued that users cannot know whether the change will occur. Additionally, Meta’s market power means users cannot easily leave its platform without disconnecting from family and friends.
The group lodged a complaint with the European Consumer Protection Authority in November, claiming the “pay or consent” approach was an example of unfair and “aggressive” commercial practices prohibited by EU law.
“What Meta is offering consumers is smoke and mirrors to hide what is at its core: collecting all kinds of sensitive information about people’s lives and monetizing it through an invasive advertising model. It’s an old-fashioned thing to do,” said Deputy Director Ursula Pakul. BEUC chief said in a statement on Thursday.
Brian Fung contributed to this article.
