Meta accused of breaking EU digital law by charging for ad-free social networks.

Users of Instagram and Facebook will surely have come across the devious "pay or consent" model recently introduced within the two famous platforms, which requires payment of a monthly fee in exchange for an ad-free version of the social media in question that does not use users' personal data for advertising purposes.

Following the introduction of the new digital laws in the EU, the European Commission has accused Meta, Mark Zuckerberg's company, of violating the aforementioned. The EU's executive organ stated, more specifically, that the "pay or consent" scheme does not comply with the Digital Markets Act.

The model in question is ethically problematic, as well as potentially illegal, as it forces users to consent to the collection of their data from multiple platforms if they do not want to, or cannot, pay. Following the charges from the EU, Meta must now release "equivalent" versions of Facebook and Instagram that use less personal data.