Poland Targets Meta Over Alleged Failure to Provide Direct Contact for Facebook & Instagram Users

Key Takeaways

• Charges Filed Against Meta: Poland’s competition and consumer authority has brought charges against Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd. over concerns that Facebook and Instagram users may not be provided with effective channels of contact, as required under Polish law.
• Legal Obligation to Provide Contact Details: Under Article 12(1)(3) of the Consumer Rights Act, businesses concluding distance contracts must clearly provide consumers with effective contact information, including an e-mail address and telephone number.
• Concerns Over Help Centre-Only Model: UOKiK alleges that directing users solely to online forms and help pages may not meet the standard of “genuine” and effective communication, particularly in urgent cases such as account takeovers.
• Broader E-Commerce Review Underway: The authority is examining whether other global service providers operating in Poland are also complying with contact transparency requirements.
• Potential Financial Exposure: If the allegations are confirmed, Meta could face a financial penalty of up to 10 percent of its annual turnover.

Deep Dive

For millions of users, losing access to a Facebook or Instagram account is not a minor inconvenience. It can mean lost sales, reputational damage, or private messages falling into the wrong hands. And when that happens, speed matters. That urgency is at the center of new charges brought by Urząd Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów against Meta Platforms, the company that manages Facebook and Instagram in Europe.

The case focuses on whether Meta is meeting its legal obligations to provide consumers with clear and effective channels of contact. If the allegations are confirmed, the company could face a financial penalty of up to 10 percent of its annual turnover.

Under Polish law, businesses that conclude contracts at a distance with consumers must provide, in a clear and comprehensible way, effective contact details, including an e-mail address and a telephone number, no later than the moment the consumer agrees to be bound by the contract. That obligation stems from Article 12(1)(3) of the Consumer Rights Act.

UOKiK’s President, Tomasz Chróstny, says the authority has “serious doubts” that this requirement is being met in Meta’s case.

The issue, according to the authority, is not whether Meta provides help tools. It is whether those tools amount to genuine, effective communication. In practice, users encountering problems, from account takeovers to payment disputes, are directed primarily to online forms and the Help Centre.

For consumers trying to stop a hacker in real time or recover a locked account, that process can feel less like customer service and more like navigating a maze.

Chróstny emphasized that where an entrepreneur generates revenue from users, whether through advertising or paid ad-free subscriptions, it must provide a real possibility of contact. Consumers should be able to clarify problems, lodge complaints, report infringements, or notify urgent account security issues without being passed between links and automated pathways.

The “Maze” Problem

According to UOKiK, the terms and conditions governing Facebook and Instagram, which form part of the contractual relationship with users, do not list an e-mail address or telephone number for contacting the company. Instead, users are directed to help pages and structured forms.

The authority argues that these forms may cover only selected scenarios and may not allow for meaningful dialogue. In some cases, consumers reportedly do not receive confirmation of their submission by e-mail, making it harder to prove what was reported and when. That absence of documentation could become significant if a consumer later seeks to enforce their rights.

UOKiK also notes that responses may be delayed, insufficient, or absent altogether, and that technical limitations, such as restrictions on attachments, may further complicate matters. Even where dedicated forms exist for account takeover cases, the authority suggests this does not resolve the broader concern about the lack of clearly indicated, fast, and effective contact channels.

Real-World Complaints

The charges follow complaints submitted by consumers. In one example cited by the authority, a complainant described searching Facebook’s website, subpages, and terms without finding a telephone number or e-mail address for direct contact.

The individual reported that their account had been compromised and that unauthorized users were accessing private messages and photos to appear credible in conversations with friends. After several dozen hours without a response, the complainant said they were unable to alert the platform to alleged criminal activity occurring through its services.

For regulators, such cases raise a broader question: when digital platforms function as everyday infrastructure for communication and commerce, what does “effective contact” actually require?

Scrutiny of E-Commerce

The Meta case is part of a wider review. UOKiK said it is examining the e-commerce sector more broadly to determine whether service providers, particularly global platforms serving Polish consumers, are making available e-mail addresses and telephone numbers that enable quick and effective communication.

If the authority ultimately confirms its allegations, Meta could face a financial penalty of up to 10 percent of its annual turnover.

The case shows a growing regulatory focus across Europe on how digital platforms meet traditional consumer protection obligations in an environment increasingly shaped by automated systems and scaled support models. For now, the question in Poland is when something goes wrong online, should there always be a real person, and a real phone number, at the other end?

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