Meta facing £10bn fines over 'breach' of EU rules

THE EU's crackdown on the practices of Big Tech stepped up a gear today after social media giant Meta braced for as much as £10 billion in fines for an alleged violation of competition rules.

- Simon Hunt

The Facebook and Instagram owner is to be told that its new "pay or consent" model, under which users must pay a fee if they refuse to have their data harvested on the platform, was in breach of the EU's new Digital Markets Act with which tech firms were expected to comply from the beginning of March.

The EU is set to complain that the pay or consent policy risks presenting a "false alternative" to users of the social media platforms, according to a report in the Financial Times, and that the cost of rejecting personal data collection could force some users to give their consent.

The decision is the latest in a string of attacks on the market behaviour of tech giants by the European Commission. Last week, iPhone maker Apple was accused of unfairly restricting App Store developers' ability to "freely steer their customers" by offering promotions elsewhere.