Meta is free to charge for the services they provide. The EU isn't mandating that they provide services at no cost to the user. It's Meta's choice to finance those services with ad money.
“The prevalent regulatory approach in Europe is that currently advocated by the European Data Protection Board ('EDPB') in its Guidelines 05/2020 on Consent under Regulation 2016/679 whereby the EDPB provides in no uncertain terms that '[i]n order for consent to be freely given, access to services and functionalities must not be made conditional on the consent of a user to the storing of information, or gaining of access to information (paragraph 39 of the Guidelines)'." [0]
There was a recent decision in France suggesting otherwise, but this is not the opinion of the primary EU regulatory guidance nor has it been seriously tested. Either way, it will become fully illegal to refuse under the DMA.
There was a recent decision in France suggesting otherwise, but this is not the opinion of the primary EU regulatory guidance nor has it been seriously tested. Either way, it will become fully illegal to refuse under the DMA.
[0]: https://www.dataguidance.com/opinion/france-cnil-opens-door-....