Consumer groups from eight European countries have lodged GDPR complaints against Meta over a new paid subscription system that allegedly forces user data consent.

The European Consumer Organisation is spearheading the complaints, asserting that Meta's data collection methods infringe on GDPR rules.

National data protection authorities are handling the complaints due to the absence of a centralized European office for such issues.

A temporary injunction against Meta has been secured in Germany for not adhering to legal standards for subscription services.

BEUC argues that Meta's data processing cannot be GDPR compliant and seeks fines to encourage a shift towards privacy-respecting practices.

Meta maintains that its subscription model is in line with European Court of Justice decisions, but must respond to new EU obligations by early March.

The European Data Protection Board is slated to release an opinion by the end of March on the matter.

Meta has faced over $2 billion in GDPR fines since 2018 and could face more penalties and pressure to overhaul its business model.