European Union accuses Facebook owner Meta of breaking digital rules with paid ad-free option

European Union regulators have accused social media company Meta Platforms of breaching the bloc’s new digital competition rulebook by forcing Facebook and Instagram users to choose between seeing ads or paying to avoid them. Meta has been giving European users the option since November of paying for ad-free versions as a way to comply with the continent’s strict data privacy rules. The U.S. tech giant rolled out the subscription option after European Union top court ruling. The European Commission said preliminary findings of its investigation show that Meta’s “pay or consent” advertising model was in breach of the 27-nation bloc’s Digital Markets Act.