BRUSSELS, Belgium: Meta is holding firm on its controversial pay-or-consent model, a move that could lead to fresh antitrust charges and steep daily fines from the European Commission, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Despite warnings in June from European Union regulators, the tech giant has no plans to offer further changes to the model, which allows users to pay to avoid data tracking. Unless circumstances shift, people with direct knowledge said, Meta is not expected to modify its approach any further.

The EC had threatened daily fines after concluding that Meta's current adjustments did not fully comply with the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA). The company already received a 200 million euro (US$234 million) fine in April for violating the DMA between its introduction in November 2023 and November 2024.

Meta made limited modifications in late 2024 to reduce the use of personal data in targeted ads. However, those changes triggered continued scrutiny from Brussels, which argues that the model still violates rules designed to curb Big Tech dominance.

New antitrust charges are expected in the coming weeks, sources said, followed by daily fines of up to five percent of Meta's global average daily revenue, starting from June 27—though a final decision is still pending.

Meta shares fell 1.7 percent in mid-session trading after the Reuters report was published.

When contacted, Meta declined to comment but referred to earlier statements, saying the company believes it is in compliance with the DMA and offers European users more choice than the law requires. Meta also accused the European Commission of unfairly targeting its business model.

The Commission declined to comment.