Consumer associations of 8 European Union (EU) member countries have filed a complaint against Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, for illegally collecting personal data.

The Brussels-based European Consumer Union (BEUC), the umbrella organisation of consumer associations in European countries, announced that associations in France, Spain, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia have complained about Meta to the data protection agencies of their countries.

In the statement, it was stated that Meta did not adhere to the principles of fair data processing, data minimisation and purpose limitation in the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), "Consumer groups are complaining about Meta's massive illegal data processing activity behind the pay-or-consent smokescreen."

In the statement, it was noted that Meta has no valid legal basis to justify its data collection on Facebook and Instagram users, and it was stated that the choices imposed by Meta on users do not lead to free and informed consent.

In the statement, it was noted that Meta has a system that follows consumers online with its illegal practices and collects large amounts of personal data in order to show them advertisements and that the company makes profit in this way.

On the other hand, Meta started to offer a monthly subscription option for users in Europe to provide ad-free access to Facebook and Instagram.