Meta fined €390M over GDPR breaches for its ad and data handling practices
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European Union (EU) regulators have found Meta’s use of targeted advertising on Facebook and Instagram to be illegal in the region, and fined both services a total of €390 million.
A pronunciation (opens in new tab) given by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) claims the company has three months to change its advertising practices or take further steps.
The DPC rejected the idea that by logging into Facebook and Instagram, users are agreeing to receive personalized ads based on their data.
As such, one of the most significant changes Facebook is likely to make is to offer European users an “opt-in” for using the data to serve ads, according to Max Schrems, the honorary president of the privacy advocacy- group Noyb.
In its original ruling, the DPC agreed with Meta’s legal argument that user participation constitutes a contract, but now claims it is bound by the recommendations of the EU’s European Data Protection Board (EDPB).
This is a tune change for the DPC, but it’s still, mostly, in Meta’s corner. In the same statement, it claimed that it was seeking a ruling against further pressure from the EDPB to force the Commission to investigate all of Meta’s data processing practices on Facebook and Instagram.
Still, Schrems is confident that the planned opt-in will provide the means for essential and transparent consent for Meta and other tech giants operating in Europe to collect European user data.
“This is a huge blow to Meta’s profits in the EU,” he claimed. “People should now be asked whether they want their data used for advertising or not. They must have a ‘yes or no’ option and can change their mind at any time. The decision also creates a level playing field with other advertisers who must also receive opt-in consent.
However, this is unlikely to become an open and closed case, Meta has said it is “disappointed” with the decision, plans to appeal and believes it will not get around to offering users an opt-in for data usage.
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