© Tingey Injury/Unsplash
After last month's scandal concerning the protection of minors against child crime in the USA, the black streak for Meta continues. Here, it is the paid subscription system that the company launched at the start of the school year which is in the crosshairs. The UFC-Que Choisir as well as a group of consumer associations from eight European countries have decided to file a complaint against the company. The reason ? More than controversial practices concerning the collection of data on Instagram and Facebook.
A commercial offer in the crosshairs
Last November, Meta introduced a new option to its users, in the form of & #8217;a paid subscription to Facebook and Instagram. For 9.99 euros per month, users could avoid advertisements and data collection.
A approach which quickly attracted the attention of the European Bureau of Consumer Unions as well as the UFC-Que Choisir, who had filed a complaint for deceptive commercial practices. Meta also attracted the wrath of the NGO Nyob some time after the launch of its offer.
The legal drama does not stop there, since this time, it is the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) that is in question. Rather from his non-respect on the part of Meta. Is this really a surprise ?
GDPR, this headache that Meta prefers to ignore
When UFC-Que Choisir seizes the judicial system, it is rarely for the wrong reasons. We know the determination of the association when it comes to defending consumers and it is a real sniper who leaves no chance to companies that break the laws.
Frithjof Michaelsen is project manager for the digital sector at UFC-que Choisir. He criticizes quite severely the way in which Meta manages the personal data of users of its services. According to him, the company does continue to collect the data of people who have subscribed to a paid subscription. He believes that this offer is nothing more than a “smokescreen on the part of Meta “.< /p>
A formal violation of the principles of the GDPR, which clearly stipulates that the data subject must have consented to the processing of their personal data for the collection to take place. For Michaelsen: “the consent sought by Meta cannot be considered valid, because the consumer cannot know how their choice impacts the collection of their personal data “.
We know that Meta is not particularly one of the good students in terms of processing data and respecting the rules in a manner general. Furthermore, he quite rightly recalls that “ Meta has already been condemned on several occasions for not having a valid legal basis for the processing of consumers' personal data ”. The story is almost endless. This new affair could also seriously affect the legitimacy of paid models that certain social media giants are starting to consider.
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