Meta is officially fined by the European Union for illegally requiring its Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users to accept personalized ads.
The social media giant is said to have violated the terms of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) when its terms of services asked users permission to collect data and information for ad targeting. According to the regulators, personalized ads should either be fully allowed or the use of the platform stops altogether. The EU has not yet noted how Meta is expected to adjust its policies to obey the GDPR. The CNBC has reported that the Irish Data Protection Commission said that Meta should be ordered to pay two fines. One of them is an approximate $222.5 million USD fine for violating the GPDR, while the other is around €180 million EUR fine related to Instagram’s breach of the same law. Max Schrems, an Austrian privacy activist, claims that this is a massive “blow to Meta’s profits in the EU.” He added, “People now need to be asked if they want their data to be used for ads or not. They must have a ‘yes or no’ option and can change their mind at any time. The decision also ensures a level playing field with other advertisers that also need to get opt-in consent.”
At the ruling earlier this week, the Data Protection Commission (DPC) said that Meta must make the necessary changes to its data procession operations into compliance within the next three months. In a statement provided to the publication, a Meta spokesperson said,
“The suggestion that personalised ads can no longer be offered by Meta across Europe unless each user’s agreement has first been sought is incorrect.
There has been a lack of regulatory clarity on this issue, and the debate among regulators and policymakers around which legal basis is most appropriate in a given situation has been ongoing for some time.
That’s why we strongly disagree with the DPC’s final decision and believe we fully comply with GDPR by relying on Contractual Necessity for behavioral ads given the nature of our services. As a result, we will appeal the substance of the decision.”
In other tech news, Alienware to release the world’s first 500Hz gaming monitor.
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