Meta warns European users of lower quality services

Meta, the Facebook and Instagram company, has warned that European users could face a much worse “experience” as a result of a recent European Commission decision opposing its new privacy model “preference or payment”.

The company said Wednesday it expects to make forced changes to the current privacy model, which allows users to choose between paying for a monthly subscription or granting permission to process their data for advertising purposes.

The European Commission decided last week that this model conflicts with the Digital Market Act (DMA), a new EU law intended to limit the power of major technological platforms. As a result, Meta was fined 200m euros.

“Based on the Commission's response to the DMA, we expect to have some modifications to our” model, Meta said in her quarterly report. “These changes could result in a much worse user experience for Europeans and have a significant impact on our incomes in the region”, the company added.

The first effects may be felt in the third quarter of this year, even though Meta intends to appeal the EU decision.

Industry experts suggest Meta may be exercising public pressure to create sympathy for her stance. Eric Seufert, analyst at Mobile Dev Memo, told the BBC: “Meta is trying to turn public opinion against this regulatory regime, highlighting the consequences that users themselves might feel”.

The European Commission has argued that Meta's current model does not guarantee a free and informed consent to the use of personal data, one of the main pillars of the bloc's new digital rules. /Periscope/