EU tells Meta it can't paywall privacy

The European Data Protection Board issued an opinion that large platforms should not present a binary ‘consent or pay’ choice for behavioral advertising, finding such consent likely invalid under GDPR in most cases; this follows complaints against Meta’s model offering ad-free subscriptions (€9.99 on web/€12.99 on mobile) to avoid tracking. Meta argues the approach remains lawful per a CJEU ruling, while noyb and BEUC member groups have filed complaints alleging violations of purpose limitation, data minimization, fairness, and transparency.