Consumer associations of eight European countries, including Greece, appealed today to the data protection authorities against the paid subscription system imposed by Meta on Facebook and Instagram violating, according to the appeal, EU rules.

For these organisations, this system, which consists of paying to avoid being the target of advertisements, is “a smokescreen intended to distract the consumer from the unfair processing of his personal data”.

Since November, Meta suggests that European users of Facebook and Instagram can choose between continuing to use these services for free by agreeing to hand over their personal data to receive targeted ads, or paying a subscription to stop seeing ads.

The formula was presented by the giant American company as a way to comply with European rules on the processing of personal data, which have already cost it convictions and fines.

But Meta is again accused of violating the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (RGPD).

“This kind of surveillance-based business model creates all kinds of problems with the GDPR. It’s time for the data protection authorities to put an end to Meta’s abusive data processing and violation of users’ fundamental rights, says Ursula Pahl, deputy director general of the European Bureau of Consumer Unions (BEUC).

The associations’ appeals are filed in coordination with the data protection authorities in France, Slovenia, Spain, Slovakia, Denmark, Norway, Greece and the Czech Republic. The decision will be made centrally and rests in principle with the Irish data protection authority, since Meta’s European headquarters are located in that country.