Meta has been fined €390 million by EU regulators after they ruled that the company has been “illegally forcing users to effectively accept personalized ads in its apps”.
This ruling and its fine could see Meta forced to make significant changes to its approach to ads, restructuring the whole system to fit ethical ways of gaining permission for using personalised ads within its apps.
As per Meta:
“We strongly believe our approach respects GDPR, and we’re therefore disappointed by these decisions and intend to appeal both the substance of the rulings and the fines.”
“It’s important to note that these decisions do not prevent personalized advertising on our platform. The decisions relate only to which legal basis Meta uses when offering certain advertising. Advertisers can continue to use our platforms to reach potential customers, grow their business and create new markets.”
“The decisions do not mandate the use of Consent – another available legal basis under GDPR – for this processing. Similar businesses use a selection of legal bases to process data, and we are assessing a variety of options that will allow us to continue offering a fully personalized service to our users. The suggestion that personalized ads can no longer be offered by Meta across Europe unless each user’s agreement has first been sought is incorrect.”
