EU accuses Facebook owner Meta of breaking digital rule with paid ad-free option

European commissioner for Europe fit for the digital age, Margrethe Vestager at a conference about the Digital Markets Act at EU headquarters in Brussels (Virginia Mayo/AP)

European Union regulators accused social media company Meta Platforms on Monday 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 of Facebook and Instagram as a way of complying with strict data privacy rules.