TikTok is fighting with the US Congress, Meta is fighting with the EU: the beauty of a worldwide web. The latest fight with Meta is advertising regulations. The next wave of EU data privacy laws are kicking in, and they do not like personalized ads. Therefore, Meta is developing new setting options for EU users only that would allow them to opt out of personalized ads and is even considering banning political ads in Europe entirely.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal: “Users who wish to opt out would have to submit an online form objecting to Meta’s use of their in-app activity for ads, and the company would then evaluate any user’s objection before implementing the change.”
Meta has a long history of trouble when it comes to data privacy, not least the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which it is still reputationally paying for today.
As Social Media Today put it: “Back in January, Meta was fined $US414 million for illegally forcing users to accept personalized ads in its apps. The ruling suggests that Meta requires individual consent from every single user in order to serve them personalized ads, which Meta says that it has obtained, via clauses built into its user agreement. But EU regulators say that this is not clear enough, which has forced the company into this latest reassessment of its process.”
