Season 3, Episode 10: Is Pay or Okay dead in Europe? (with Mikołaj Barczentewicz)

- The EDPB identifies Meta's pay or okay model as potentially non-compliant with GDPR, highlighting a lack of a valid consent mechanism that respects the balance of power between users and large platforms.

- "Large online platforms" remain ambiguously defined by the EDPB, with criteria such as user base, market position, and scale of data processing, suggesting that the term could extend to entities beyond typical social media companies.

- The EDPB's opinion may lead to varied enforcement actions across different European Data Protection Authorities, reflecting potential discord and varied interpretations within the EDPB.

- There is an indication that pay or okay models, as currently implemented, may not be lawful under GDPR unless they provide genuinely free alternatives to behavioral advertising, ensuring users' consent is freely given.

- The EDPB's stance on pay or okay and consent hinges on a nuanced interpretation of the CJEU's commentary, balancing the principle that pay or okay can be lawful with the requirement for valid consent mechanisms.

- Unintended consequences of the EDPB opinion include a potential ripple effect on various companies such as YouTube and Spotify, which may need to reassess their monetization and data processing strategies to comply with GDPR.

- The EDPB's ruling complicates the future application of the one-stop-shop mechanism within the European Economic Area, potentially allowing for independent actions by DPAs against large platforms like American big tech companies.

- The EDPB suggests an urgent need for platforms using pay or okay to offer equivalent alternatives that do not compromise the users' ability to choose without detriment, implying a shift in how consent must be approached in the digital economy.