Jurisdiction(s):
Ireland

EU General Court dismisses Meta’s challenge to EDPB ‘consent or pay’ opinion as inadmissible; opinion not binding on companies; damages claim rejected; CJEU appeal possible

Published on: 19 May 2025

Published by an LexisNexis Ireland - Commercial expert

Legal News

Article summary

Meta Platforms Ireland’s challenge of an opinion by an umbrella group of EU data protection authorities on the ‘consent or pay’ business model has been rejected as inadmissible, the EU’s lower-tier General Court has ruled (see here)

The action was thrown out on the basis that it was in part inadmissible and in part manifestly lacking any legal foundation, according to the General Court’s order dated 29 April, which was made public today.

A Meta representative told MLex they were disappointed the court would not pronounce on the validity of the EDPB’s opinion, stressing that subscriptions offered as an alternative to viewing advertising are a well-established and economically viable business model used across numerous industries.

The US technology giant had asked the court to declare the European Data Protection Board’s opinion, issued in April 2024, null and void (see here).

The EDPB’s view was unexpectedly stringent regarding the deployment of the consent-or-pay model by major online platforms...

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